DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

House Prices

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average house price was (a) in each local billing authority in England and (b) in England, in each year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: Estimates of median house prices at local authority level are only available back to 1996 and are based on Land Registry data. The figures for 1996 to 2004 are available from the Housing Statistics section on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's (ODPM) internet site.
	These data are published on the ODPM website at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/ documents/page/odpm_ house_609382.xls

Local Authority Cabinets

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he has given to local authorities concerning councillors elected to two authorities holding Cabinet positions on both; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has given no advice to local authorities specifically concerning councillors who hold Cabinet positions on two different authorities. Members are, however, required to follow the provisions of the code of conduct for Members, issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which sets out the standards of conduct expected of Members, and includes provisions relating to Members' personal and prejudicial interests.

Local Government Conduct

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will amend the local government code of conduct to incorporate a defence of acting in the public interest; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will undertake a review of the operation of the (a) Local Government Code of Conduct and (b) the Standards Board; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Standards Board for England is currently consulting on a review of the code of conduct for Members. The review includes consideration of whether there is a case for the addition to the code of a provision which would allow Members to disclose certain information in the public interest. Any recommendations the Standards Board may wish to make for amendments to the code will be considered by Ministers.
	The role and effectiveness of the Standards Board and the operation of the ethical framework for local government has recently been the subject of reviews by both the Committee for Standards in Public Life and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee. Both have published their findings, and the Government are considering its response to these reviews.

Local Government Finance

David Howarth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will rank local authorities by percentage increase in amount received in revenue support grant plus national non-domestic rates in the period from 1999–2000 to 2005–06.

Phil Woolas: A table has been placed in the Library of the House showing the percentage change year-on-year on a like-for-like basis (i.e. after adjusting the base year for changes in the funding and functions of local authorities) of formula grant for the period 1999–2000 to 2005–06, together with the average percentage change over this period. Authorities have then been ranked by the average percentage increase over the period within class.
	Formula grant consists of the sum of the following grants (where appropriate):
	Revenue Support Grant;
	Redistributed Business Rates;
	Police Grant;
	Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) Reduction Grant (SSA Review);
	SSA Reduction Grant (Police Funding Review); and
	Central Support Protection Grant.
	SSA reduction Grant (SSA Review), SSA Reduction Grant (Police Funding Review) and Central Support Protection Grant were damping grants provided to protect authorities from year-on-year changes in Revenue Support Grant, Redistributed Business Rates and Police Grant. In 2001–02 Central Support Protection Grant was replaced by floor and ceiling damping within Revenue Support Grant for authorities with education and personal social services responsibilities. In 2002–03, floor and ceiling damping was extended to all authorities. Floor and ceiling damping refers to the increase year-on-year in formula grant.
	As different classes of authorities provide different services it would be inappropriate to compare all authorities. Please note that the Combined Fire Authorities became precepting bodies in 2004–05, and therefore the average percentage increase in formula grant for these authorities refers to the two-year average for 2004–05 and 2005–06.

Local Government Reform

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the time scale is for the publication of further consultation papers on reform of local government.

Phil Woolas: Before the general election, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister set out a number of ideas on the future of local government, both in our five year plans, the initial local vision document and subsequent discussion papers on neighbourhoods, local leadership, and the performance framework. We are considering the best way of developing this work in light of the feedback so far and the ambitious programme of work in the manifesto.

Mobile Telephone Masts

Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidelines mobile network providers have to follow to set up mobile telephone masts; what plans he has to review the guidelines; and whether mobile network providers have to consult nearby residents before installing masts.

Yvette Cooper: Current planning guidance for all electronic communication developments is set out in planning policy guidance note 8 (revised) (PPG8). The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also issued a code of best practice on mobile phone network development. The code provides detailed guidance on best practice for public consultation. In September last year the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister commissioned the University of Reading and Arup to undertake an independent study to assess the impact that the code has had since its introduction. This forms part of the Government's review of all the planning arrangements surrounding telecommunication masts.

Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans the Government have for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

Phil Woolas: In Spending Review 2004 (SR04), the Government made available over £1 billion of new Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) resources for the period 2006–08. No decision has yet been taken on how these resources will be allocated. The Government are carefully examining the options available, in the light of responses to the recent consultation with key stakeholders such as local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships. An announcement on the allocations will be made as soon as possible once we have completed our consideration.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum and Immigration

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for refugee status he expects will be processed each year at the accommodation centre for asylum seekers at Bicester.

Tony McNulty: The total number of applicants processed annually will be dependent on the mix of asylum applicants but we expect it to be no less than 1,500.

Asylum and Immigration

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many migrants claimed refugee status in each month in the last three years.

Tony McNulty: The table shows the number of asylum applications received in each month in the last three years.
	Information on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication covering the second quarter of 2005 will be available in August 2005 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		Applications(1) for asylum in the UK, excluding dependants, 2002–04
		
			  Applications received 
		
		
			 2002  
			 January 6,575 
			 February 6,325 
			 March 6,355 
			 April 6,475 
			 May 7,380 
			 June 6,235 
			 July 7,510 
			 August 6,895 
			 September 7,630 
			 October 8,770 
			 November 7,545 
			 December 6,445 
			 Total 84,130 
			   
			 2003(2)  
			 January 7,210 
			 February 4,215 
			 March 4,430 
			 April 3,690 
			 May 3,365 
			 June 3,615 
			 July 3,990 
			 August 3,795 
			 September 4,270 
			 October 4,025 
			 November 3,275 
			 December 3,525 
			 Total 49,405 
			   
			 2004(2)  
			 January 3,030 
			 February 2,900 
			 March 3,015 
			 April 2,640 
			 May 2,550 
			 June 2,730 
			 July 2,860 
			 August 2,680 
			 September 3,060 
			 October 2,805 
			 November 2,875 
			 December 2,780 
			 Total 33,930 
		
	
	(1) Figures rounded to the nearest 5.
	(2) Figures are provisional.

Immigration

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects his office to reach a decision on the case of Ms Alexis Perreira in respect of her application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Tony McNulty: A decision to regularise Ms Perreira's immigration status in the United Kingdom was taken on the 23 May 2005.

Immigration

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will issue a letter confirming her status to Mrs. Maliheh Sadeghi Boroujerdi, of Newcastle, following the decision of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal of 2 February (appeal no. TH/07220/2004) not to grant the Secretary of State permission to appeal against the earlier decision of the adjudicator.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 24 May 2005
	Mrs. Boroujerdi's representative was contacted on 23 May to request the necessary documentation. Her status will be confirmed as soon as the correct documentation has been received.

Mr. Hugh Hickson

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the case of Mr. Hugh Hickson, formerly of the Prison Service, referred to in the letter of 4 April from the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

Fiona Mactaggart: Mr Hickson took his grievance to an employment tribunal, which found against him in September 2004. There was no subsequent appeal to an employment appeals tribunal and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the due process of law in this matter.

Police Service (Modernisation)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he plans to have with the Police Federation concerning a reform programme for the police service.

Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I regularly meet the chair and other officials of the Police Federation to discuss all topics including police reform.

Police Vehicles

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving police (a) pursuit and (b) patrol cars and drivers and members of the public resulting in serious injuries or death there were in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 24 May 2005
	Accidents involving pursuit and patrol vehicles are not recorded separately. Figures for road traffic collisions are currently available from 2002–03.
	The available information for the numbers of casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions resulting from immediate/emergency response and police pursuits on public roads involving all police forces in England and Wales is provided in the table.
	
		Table 1: Casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions involving all Police Forces in England and Wales -- Number of casualties/injuries
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Police Personnel 
			 Fatal 1 2 
			 Serious 38 33 
			 Members of Public 
			 Fatal 30 20 
			 Serious 100 73

Police Vehicles

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents involving (a) Kent police and (b) Metropolitan police (i) pursuit and (ii) patrol vehicles and drivers and members of the public resulting in serious injuries or death there were in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: Accidents involving pursuit and patrol vehicles are not recorded separately. Figures for road traffic collisions are currently available from 2002–03.
	The available information for the numbers of casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions resulting from immediate/emergency response and police pursuits on public roads involving Kent police and the Metropolitan police is provided in the table.
	
		Casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions involving Kent police and the Metropolitan police
		
			   Number of casualties/injuries 
			  Kent Metropolitan 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Police personnel 
			 Fatal 0 0 0 1 
			 Serious 5 1 1 2 
			 Members of public
			 Fatal 0 0 4 4 
			 Serious 1 2 19 13

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Gareth Thomas: The UK has provided over £100 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan since 2001. Afghanistan is gradually moving from being a failed state with urgent humanitarian and relief needs, to a post-conflict state with a growing economy and new state structures in need of sustained support. In response to this process of slow stabilisation, and at the request of the Afghan Government, DFID is increasingly focusing on support to long-term reconstruction and development.
	The UK continues to provide some targeted humanitarian support to Afghanistan through international agencies. In 2004–05, DFID gave £2.5 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and £0.5 million to the International Organisation for Migration to help Afghan refugees return to their homes. DFID contributed £3 million to the Afghan Government's drought appeal in September 2004, of which £0.7 million has been reallocated for flood protection following heavy rains in early 2005. Our support to cash for work programmes to help poppy farmers and labourers move to alternative livelihoods (over £20 million in 2005–06) also meets humanitarian needs.
	DFID continues to provide substantial multi-annual support to the major multilateral organisations who deliver humanitarian assistance globally. A number of these, for example, the UNHCR and the United Nations Children's Fund, are still implementing major humanitarian programmes in Afghanistan.

Darfur

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department has taken in response to the statement by the UN that a rapid deterioration of local coping mechanisms among the local population has taken place in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it will increase its target beneficiaries in Darfur from 2.1 million in April to between 3 and 3.5 million during the July-October hungry season as local coping mechanisms fail. This year as part of its £45 million contribution to humanitarian components of the UN 2005 Workplan for Sudan, DFID has provided £11 million to the WFP across Sudan and £1.2 million to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's programme to increase agricultural and pastoral production in Darfur. DFID has also contributed £5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, who are delivering food aid to 320,000 people in less accessible Darfur communities.

Darfur

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the physical security conditions for humanitarian operations in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: While the security situation is relatively calm in Darfur, banditry is now the biggest security threat to humanitarian operations there. On several occasions during April, clearly marked humanitarian vehicles came under fire, causing the serious injury of one humanitarian worker and considerable damage. Intimidation of humanitarian workers including United Nations personnel throughout April was reported in the UN Secretary-General's April report to the Security Council. This has continued in May: in South Darfur, two truck drivers, contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP), were shot and killed by unidentified attackers on 8 May; and five Sudanese NGO workers were detained by the Sudanese Liberation Army on 11 May.

Developing Nations (Aid)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms are in place to ensure co-ordination between countries which give aid to developing nations; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Donor co-ordination takes place at a number of levels: internationally, regionally and within partner countries. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is the main international forum for bilateral donors to discuss co-operation and increased effectiveness of development assistance. As well as annual high-level meetings for heads and deputy heads of development agencies, there are a number of working parties and groups dealing with specific subject areas.
	The Paris High Level Forum in March this year brought together Ministers, heads of aid agencies and other senior officials from 60 partner countries, bilateral donors and the main multilateral institutions, to agree ways of making aid more effective. The Paris Declaration is the best statement yet of internationally agreed best practice on aid effectiveness with around 50 commitments, plus indicators and targets, to improve country ownership and donor harmonisation and alignment.
	The EU also provides a mechanism to increase coordination and harmonisation among member states. Last year the EU agreed an Action Plan on Harmonisation which included measures to improve co-ordination of EU development assistance at country level. The World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring and annual meetings also provide an opportunity for donors to coordinate policy on aid and development.
	There are also co-ordination mechanisms at regional level. For example the Strategic Partnership for Africa seeks to support poverty reduction in Africa by increasing the quality and quantity of aid.
	At country level the World Bank led Consultative Groups review overall progress on poverty reduction and donor commitments to help governments achieve their poverty reduction objectives. The development of Poverty Reduction Strategy papers or similar national development strategies provides an opportunity for developing countries to coordinate donor support. In some countries partner governments lead donor co-ordination processes aimed at improving the overall coherence of donor support (for example, the Government of Tanzania are leading a joint assistance strategy). In some countries, donors have begun to undertake joint strategic planning. For example, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and DFID are developing a joint plan in Cambodia. There are also sector co-ordination processes in many countries particularly in health and education where many donors are present.
	DFID is working hard to improve the effectiveness of co-ordination and to increase developing country voice at all these levels. A principal concern is that there is no international forum in which total aid allocations to each country are reviewed. We believe that this results in some countries consistently receiving less than their fair share of aid.

Yemen (Smallpox)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance he is proposing to provide to Yemen following the recent outbreak of smallpox.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is unaware of a recent outbreak of smallpox in Yemen. However, there has been an outbreak of polio recently. As of 17 May, 66 cases had been confirmed (source World Health Organisation). Experts expect the total number of cases to exceed 100 before the outbreak is stopped. A nationwide immunisation campaign is due to get under way shortly with support from Saudi Arabia. Six million doses of vaccine have been shipped to Yemen. The Government of Yemen completed a mass information campaign in April.
	DFID has not received any official requests for help to date.

TRANSPORT

A57/A628 (Traffic Levels)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the traffic levels were on the A628 and A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle by-pass in the last year for which figures are available; and what forecast has been made of likely future levels.

Stephen Ladyman: Annual average daily traffic levels for the A628 at Woodhead for the year 2004 were 11,900 vehicles per day. Construction has not yet started on the planned A57/A628 Mottram Tintwistle bypass. The Highways Agency expects construction work to start in 2007–08 subject to satisfactory completion of the statutory procedures and funding.
	Projected annual average daily traffic levels for the A628 at Woodhead in 2023 are 12,600 vehicles per day without a bypass, and 20,000 vehicles per day with a bypass and route demand management measures, as the bypass will make the route attractive to road users.

A628

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions in each of the last five years the A628 has been closed as a result of accidents (a) in total and (b) involving heavy goods vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: Information for the full five years requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Between July and December 2003, the A628 was closed once as a result of accidents, on five occasions during 2004, and once since January 2005. All of these closures involved HGV vehicles.

Motorways

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from road safety organisations regarding the prevalence of roadside signs alongside motorways.

Stephen Ladyman: My Department has not received any recent representations from road safety organisations about the prevalence of roadside signs alongside motorways.

Parking Spaces (London)

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many parking spaces there are in central London in (a) street slots and (b) car parks.

Karen Buck: Since 3 July 2000, the Mayor has had overall responsibility for traffic management in London. However, responsibility for parking enforcement in London generally rests with the relevant local authority. It is a matter for individual local authorities to decide on the nature and scope of parking controls and to balance the needs of residents, emergency services, local business and those who work and travel in the area.
	While we do not hold any up to date figures, Transport for London's report, "Transport Statistics for London 2001", provides the following figures for parking spaces in central London in 1999–2000:
	
		
			  Number of spaces 
		
		
			 Public off-street car parks 25,000 
			 Private non residential car parks 34.000 
			 Sub-total 59,000 
			   
			 On-street controlled parking 14,000 
			 On-street parking—unrestricted 11,000 
			 On-street parking—single yellow lines 42.000 
			 Sub-total 67,000 
		
	
	These figures are estimates only and are based on sample surveys undertaken in 1998.

Retro-reflective Tape

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish the study carried out by the Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute of Loughborough University on ECE 104 retro-reflective tape; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The "Assessment of the safety benefit of retro-reflective markings on heavy goods vehicles and buses" research was completed at the end of February and the final report was issued by the Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute of Loughborough university on 18 May. It is available on the university's website at: www.lboro.ac.uk/research/esri/main/reports.htm and copies are being placed in the House Libraries. The review has up-dated our understanding of this issue and has indicated a more favourable cost benefit ratio, compared with earlier research, for the application of retro-reflective tape to some categories of vehicle. My Department is now considering how best—including wide consultation—to take this forward.

CABINET OFFICE

e-Government Unit

Ian Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has (a) to make more public services available online and (b) to develop the responsibilities of the e-Government unit.

Jim Murphy: As reported in last year's Cabinet Office Autumn Performance report, 96 per cent. of Government services are estimated to be available electronically by the end of 2005, with 75 per cent. of services currently online.
	The e-Government Unit will continue to work with central and local government to support the business transformation of Government so it can provide better, more efficient and trusted public services. Under the "Connecting the UK: the Digital Strategy" initiative, it is working with the newly-created Government CIO Council to set out a vision of public service delivery enabled and delivered through technology, and a strategy to achieve that vision.
	Copies of the Cabinet Office Autumn Performance report 2004, can be found at http://cabweb/cabwebpub/strategvandperformance/departmentalplansreportsrevi ews/df0020.htm and in the Library.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Boundary Changes

Graham Allen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Boundary Commission's proposals for parliamentary boundary changes will be implemented.

Harriet Harman: Any changes to parliamentary boundaries in Wales arising from the Boundary Commission's report presented to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 31 January, will come into effect at the first proclamation summoning a new Parliament issued after the order implementing the changes comes into force. The final report of the Boundary Commission in relation to parliamentary boundaries in England has not yet been published.

Legal Aid Budget

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which 12 barristers received the most money from the (a) criminal legal aid budget and (b) civil legal aid budget in each of the last three years; how much each received in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The information requested has to be extracted from different computer system across Legal Service Commission and my Department and collecting and collating that data will take some time. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the information is available.

Legal Aid Budget

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which was the most expensive case for the (a) criminal and (b) civil legal aid budget in 2004–05; how much was paid by way of (i) brief fee and (ii) refreshers to each of the barristers concerned; how much was paid to each solicitors firm involved; who the (A) barristers and (B) solicitors were; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Payments relating to one specific case may be spread over a number of financial years and identifying those will take some time. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the information is available.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Analogue Switch-off

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Government's time scale for switching off analogue television.

Tessa Jowell: We will achieve digital switchover between 2008 and 2012 ensuring universal access to high-quality, free-to-view and subscription digital TV. This will happen region by region, and we will make sure that the interests of elderly people and other vulnerable groups are protected.

Cinemas (Digital Subtitling)

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government are taking to support digital subtitling in cinemas.

James Purnell: The UK Film Council, the Government's strategic agency for film, set up the Cinema Access Programme in September 2003 to improve disabled peoples' experiences of cinema. Through the programme, funding of £500,000 has been allocated to equip 78 cinemas with subtitling and audio description equipment (£350,000); develop a web-based information service to raise awareness of subtitled and audio-described screenings (£50,000); assist UK distributors with producing subtitled and audio-described film prints (£60,000); and conduct research into the ongoing needs of disabled audiences, both technically and in terms of awareness of available films and cinemas (£40,000). The programme has so far been rolled out only across England, as the funding is an initial allocation from Arts Council England. However, the UK Film Council is working with Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission, Scottish Screen and Sgrîn Cymru Wales to set up similar schemes.

Freeview

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the availability of Freeview in (a) Bexhill-on-Sea and the surrounding area and (b) the UK.

James Purnell: We do not have a breakdown of coverage by constituency but Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) coverage maps have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Freeview also provide a comprehensive postcode database (www.freeview.co.uk) that gives availability of DTT throughout the UK.
	At least a quarter of UK households cannot currently receive the DTT service; this figure cannot be increased before switchover. The current availability of Freeview is particularly severely restricted in Bexhill-on-Sea, because of its proximity to continental Europe which means that, until switchover, the Heathfield transmitter can only broadcast digital signals at low strength.

London Eye

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions (a) she, (b) her Ministers and (c) her officials have had in the past six months with (i) the Chairman and (ii) representatives of the South Bank Centre in relation to the lease of land for the London Eye.

Tessa Jowell: I have been in discussion with the South Bank Centre Chair, Lord Hollick, over this matter. My officials have been in regular contact with colleagues at the South Bank Centre about this issue over the last six months.

London Eye

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what role her Department played in the negotiations on the original lease of land on London's South Bank for the London Eye.

Tessa Jowell: My Department consented to the original lease following the completion of commercial negotiations between the South Bank Centre and the London Eye, and will similarly be required to give consent to the new lease.

London Eye

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when her Department was first informed of the breakdown in negotiations on the lease of land between the South Bank Centre and the London Eye.

Tessa Jowell: There has been no breakdown. Negotiations are ongoing.

London Eye

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of whether the eviction notice served on the London Eye by the South Bank Centre is in the public interest.

Tessa Jowell: No "eviction notice" or "notice to quit" has been served and no legal proceedings have been commenced.
	The South Bank Centre wrote to British Airways London Eye on 14 December 2004 to advise them that their lease expired on 31 December 2004. The letter pointed out that under the terms of the original lease previously agreed, the site was to be vacated six months after that lease expired (i.e. by 1 July 2005).
	However, subsequent to this letter, the South Bank Centre agreed a "standstill agreement" with the London Eye under which it committed to not apply to the court for possession of the site for an agreed period while negotiations over a new lease were ongoing. Negotiations are still continuing.

London Eye

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the contribution the London Eye makes to UK (a) tourism and (b) cultural heritage.

Tessa Jowell: The London Eye was visited by 3.7 million people in 2004, and clearly plays an important role in London's tourism economy. The Greater London Authority (GLA), which has responsibility for the development of tourism in London, is currently working to produce a modeling system that will be capable of estimating the economic impact of such major attractions.

Sign Language

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government provided to support sign language interpreted programmes in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004; and what proportion of programmes were signed in each year.

James Purnell: The Government are committed to extending access to broadcasting services for people with sensory impairments and have placed the responsibility for the provision of signing on individual broadcasters. No direct Government funding is provided for such services.
	Comprehensive data for the proportion of signed television programmes for 1997 and 2004 are not available.
	Following the implementation of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom published their code on Television Access Services in July 2004, which came into effect for most broadcasters on 29 December 2004. Targets for signing are set by Ofcom and were previously set by the Independent Television Commission and the BBC.
	The relevant dates for the purpose of determining when provision of signing must begin are 1 January 1997 in the case of BBCs 1 and 2, 1 January 1998 for Channel 5 and 1 January 2000 for Channels 3 and 4 and S4C Digital. In the case of digital television programme services, the relevant date is the date on which the provision of that service began. The BBC are required to sign 4 per cent. of their programmes. The remaining PSB's are required to sign 3 per cent. Requirements on signing increase to 5 per cent. of programming within 10 years of the relevant date.
	From December 2004, 60 additional digital channels have been required to sign 1 per cent. of programmes. Again this figure will rise by the tenth anniversary of the relevant date to the statutory target of 5 per cent.

Welsh Language Television Programmes

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government provided to support the production of television programmes in the Welsh language in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004.

James Purnell: The Welsh Fourth Channel Authority, S4C, received grant in aid of £72.223 million in 1997 and £85.729 million in 2004, under its statutory funding formula. Under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1990, S4C also receives Welsh language programmes from the BBC free of charge. These were valued at £16.7 million in the financial year 1997–98 and £20.3 million in 2003–04.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Equal Pay Act

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government has to review the Equal Pay Act 1970.

Meg Munn: The Government has announced an independent Equalities Review, led by Trevor Phillips, to improve our understanding of the long-term and underlying barriers to opportunity. Alongside this, the Discrimination Law Review, led by the Women and Equality Unit in the Department of Trade and Industry, will examine the current anti-discrimination legislative framework, by developing proposals for a more modern, coherent and effective legal framework for tackling discrimination.

Women's Pay

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government has to improve pay progression for women.

Meg Munn: We set up the Women and Work Commission to make recommendations when it reports to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in autumn 2005 on tackling the causes of the gender pay gap.
	The national minimum wage helps to close the gender pay gap. Around 70 per cent. of beneficiaries of recent increases were women. We will increase this further to £5.05 in October 2005 and to £5.35 in October 2006.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Domestic Violence Trials (Special Measures)

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  how many applications by the Crown Prosecution Service for the use of special measures to protect complainants in trials concerning domestic violence were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful during (i) 2003 and (ii) 2004;
	(2)  how many applications for the use of special measures for complainants in trials concerning domestic violence were made by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2003 and 2004.

Mike O'Brien: Special measures were introduced in Part II of the Youth Justice Criminal Evidence Act 1999. Measures include, for example, the use of screens, video link, video-taped evidence in chief and aids to communication. They are available in criminal trials to support eligible witnesses. The CPS does not collate national data on the number of special measures applications it makes or on whether such applications are successful or not.

Rape Cases

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  what his policy is on writing to rape complainants to explain why a discontinued case would not proceed;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy that the complainant should be personally visited by the Crown Prosecution Service lawyer who makes the decisions when cases of rape are discontinued.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service's policy in cases of this kind is for the crown prosecutor concerned to write to the complainant to explain why the charge of rape has been discontinued or substantially altered. The Crown prosecutor will also offer a meeting with the complainant to discuss the decision. The meeting will usually be held at a CPS office or other suitable venue. The wishes of the complainant will be taken into account when deciding the venue.
	The policy affords the complainant an explanation for the decision and allows her to decide whether she wishes to have a meeting to discuss that decision further.

Rape Cases

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what the Crown Prosecution Service's policy is on the use of video interviews of rape complainants as evidence in chief.

Mike O'Brien: Video interviews of rape complainants can be led by the prosecution in evidence when the rape complainant is "vulnerable" as defined by section 16 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
	The CPS policy is to prosecute rape cases as robustly and effectively as possible. In so doing, prosecutors should take advantage of special measures provisions, including now the ability to use a video recorded interview as evidence in chief, where it is right to do so. This has to be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the views and needs of the complainant. As such, there is no specific policy in relation to the use of video interviews.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (a) dated 11 April regarding the MG Rover Dealership Network and (b) dated 21 February on hydrogen technology.

Ian Pearson: The hon. Member's letter of 11 April to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt) on the MG Rover Dealership Network now falls within my remit as Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs and I will reply to it very shortly. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for North Warwickshire, (Mr. Mike O'Brien) former DTI Minister for Energy and e-Commerce, replied on 11 March to the letter of 21 February on Hydrogen Technology. I have asked for a copy to be sent to the hon. Member.

Crude Oil

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much crude oil has been produced by the UK in million tonnes of oil in each year from 1999 to 2004; how much crude oil has been consumed by the UK in each of these years; and what the Government's estimate is of when the UK will recommence being a net importer of crude oil.

Malcolm Wicks: Figures for UK production and consumption of crude oil are presented in the following table.
	
		
			   Million tonne 
			  Crude oil production Crude oil demand 
		
		
			 1999 128 82 
			 2000 118 81 
			 2001 108 76 
			 2002 107 78 
			 2003 98 77 
			 2004 88 82 
		
	
	The figures for 1999 to 2003 from the table are taken from DTI's Digest of UK Energy Statistics while the provisional figures for 2004 come from the March 2005 edition of Energy Trends. Copies of both publications are in the Libraries of the House. The 2004 figures will not be finalised until July when published in the 2005 edition of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics.
	The 2003 Energy White Paper noted that the UK is expected to become a net importer of oil on an annual basis by around 2010. This is still considered to be the case.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the (i) Standing Committee for veterinary medicinal products, (ii) Standing Committee on technical rules and standards, including rules relating to information society services and (iii) Management Committee on horizontal questions concerning trade in processed agricultural products not listed in Annex I met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Standing Committee on Veterinary Medicinal Products for the Adaptation to Technical Progress of the Directives on the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade in the Veterinary Medicinal Products Sector is a regulatory committee. Most of its business is conducted electronically and meetings are only held in the event of an issue arising that is considered to require discussion. According to records, no meetings were held during the Italian, Irish or Dutch presidencies of the EU.
	The Standing Committee on technical rules and standards, including rules relating to information society services met in 2003 on 2–3 October and 9–11 December and in 2004 on 10–11 March, 24 June and 5–7 October. All of the meetings were held in Brussels and the UK was represented by officials from the DTI. The meetings covered issues related to the implementation of the Directive (98/34/EC), most of which were technical regulations and standardisation mandates, and also policy on standardisation.
	The Management Committee on horizontal questions concerning trade in processed agricultural products not listed in Annex I met in 2003 on 4 July, 12 September, 10 October, 7 November and 5 December and in 2004 on 23 January, 5 March, 19 March, 2 April, 14 May, 8 July, 10 September, 15 October and 3 December. All of the meetings were held in Brussels and the UK was represented by officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Rural Payments Agency. The UK's priority within the Management Committee is to ensure the efficient operation of the non-Annex I exports refund regime.

European Law

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of Government employees likely to be affected by ECJ case 2005/C31/16 of OJ C31 of 5 February; where such staff are located; what estimate has been made of the cost of implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As the Infraction Case in question is still ongoing it would not be appropriate to make an estimation of affected Government employees; their location and the cost of implementation.

Export Control

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans his Department has to consult on public sector involvement in delivering Export Control Organisation services.

Malcolm Wicks: I have no present plans to consult as I have reached no view on any changes to the delivery of the Export Control Organisation's services.

Export Control

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes in personnel and resources allocated to export control (a) have been made since 2003 and (b) are planned; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: For the 2003–04 financial year, the Export Control Organisation (ECO) was allocated a running costs budget of £6,094,000, and for 2004–05, £6,389,000. The 2005–06 budget has not yet been formally delegated.
	In 2003–04 ECO had an average of 156 staff in post; and in 2004–05, an average of 142. ECO has a target to reduce its headcount to 109 staff by 1 April 2006.

Export Control

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff there are in the Export Control Organisation; how many there were in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05; what sections of the organisation have experienced changes in staff numbers since 2002–03; and what targets have been set for the number of staff in each section of the organisation.

Malcolm Wicks: The Export Control Organisation (ECO) currently has 125 staff in post. In 2002–03 ECO had an average of 146 staff in post; in 2003–04 an average of 156; and in 2004–05, an average of 142. There have been changes in staff numbers in all sections of the organisation. Targets are not section specific; there is an overall target for headcount of 109 by 1 April 2006.

Export Control

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has decided whether to seek private sector partner involvement in delivering Export Control Organisation services; and if he will make a statement on the future of the organisation.

Malcolm Wicks: This matter is still under consideration.

Manufacturing Advisory Service

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the progress of the Manufacturing Advisory Service in assisting manufacturing businesses in (a) the West Midlands and (b) England to become more competitive.

Alun Michael: The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) has made excellent progress since it was established in 2002 as part of the Manufacturing Strategy. It has played a key role in helping many manufacturers across the UK to improve productivity. On average, every company assisted has seen an increase in added value of £107,000 as a result of productivity improvements generated through MAS.
	(a) In the West Midlands MAS has fielded 4,211 inquiries, completed 1,819 company diagnostic reviews, and completed 727 in-depth company interventions adding value of £7.56 million.
	(b) In England MAS has fielded 48,410 inquiries, completed 8,500 company diagnostic reviews, and completed 2,443 in-depth company interventions adding value of £103.3 million.

Morocco

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice the Department gives to companies wishing to trade with Morocco.

Ian Pearson: British firms looking at trading overseas receive advice and a broad range of support services through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). Through UKTI, we are helping unprecedented numbers of smaller companies break into export markets like Morocco. UKTI monitors commercial developments in Morocco and alerts British firms on a case-by-case basis to specific opportunities. UKTI also supports the activities of the private sector led Moroccan British Business Council, which aims to improve the climate for bilateral trade and investment and increase the number of Moroccan and British exporters.

Rover/Phoenix Holdings

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Department intends to launch an investigation into the activities of Phoenix Holdings directors.

Ian Pearson: Sir Bryan Nicholson, chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, has been asked to carry out a Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) review into the audited accounts of MG Rover and its associated companies over the past five years. He is due to report shortly. In addition, the administrators have a duty to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on the conduct of the directors.

Rover/Phoenix Holdings

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) meetings and (b) contact took place between Ministers of the Department and the directors of Phoenix Venture Holdings following their taking over of MG Rover.

Ian Pearson: Recently, Ministers from the Department have frequently spoken to the directors of Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH) in relation to the proposed joint venture with SAIC. There have also been a number of letters to and from PVH regarding the prospective deal with SAIC.
	Prior to this year there were three meetings between my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State and one or more directors of PVH. These were in November 2004, at the Motor Show in May 2004 and at a CBI dinner in November 2002.

Rover/Phoenix Holdings

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the negotiations which took place between his Department's officials and the Shanghai Automotive Company over the takeover of MG Rover.

Ian Pearson: The negotiations on the proposed joint ventures between MG Rover and SAIC were a matter for the companies themselves. The Government did, however, do all it could to help bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion, and officials from the DTI did engage with both MG Rover and SAIC to that end. We regret that the efforts of all concerned were ultimately unsuccessful.

Rover/Phoenix Holdings

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public money was given to Phoenix Venture Holdings before it went into administration in April.

Ian Pearson: No public money has been given to Phoenix Venture Holdings, which is not in administration.
	MG Rover Group entered administration in April 2005.
	Since 2000 MG Rover Group has been offered assistance in the following two areas:
	A grant of up to £9 million under the Learning and Skills Act 2000 towards the cost of employee training and development, of which £4 million is from Rover Task Force funding and the balance from European funds. The company had drawn down some £5 million to date.
	An offer of grant of £1.057 million (awarded to a partnership of MG Rover, MIRA, Powertrain Ltd. and Pi Technology) under the Department for Transport's Ultra Low Carbon Car Challenge, of which £424,830 has been drawn down.

Rover/Phoenix Holdings

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions the former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry had with MG Rover before he announced that MG Rover was to go into administration.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State had a number of discussions with the management of MG Rover and trades union representatives regarding the company's proposed joint venture with SAIC and the prospects for its successful conclusion in the weeks preceding the Directors' decision to put the company into administration. On the day the decision was taken, the then Secretary of State spoke with John Towers on the telephone on a number of occasions.

Working Time Directive

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to preserve the UK's opt-outs from the Working Time Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is still the case that we are determined to maintain the opt out. To this end we are working closely with the European Commission and other EU member states to ensure a satisfactory outcome.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Transport (Emissions)

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) Kyoto basket emissions are estimated to have come from air transport flights taking off from and landing in UK airports in 2003.

Margaret Beckett: The proportion of emissions in the UK greenhouse gas inventory of (a) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ); and (b) the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases (GHG) from air transport flights taking off from and landing in UK airports in 2003 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  (a) CO 2 (b)GHG 
		
		
			 Emissions from domestic aviation Million tonnes of carbon equivalent (MtCeq/yr) 0.6 2.1 
			 Total UK emissions inventory (MtCeq/yr) 156.1 181.6 
			 UK domestic aviation as a proportion of total emissions (percentage) 0.4 1.2 
		
	
	The data cover emissions from all civil domestic passenger and freight traffic movements inside the UK. Under guidelines agreed internationally, emissions from international aviation taking off and landing at UK airports are not included in UK total emissions, but are estimated for information purposes. Emissions of CO 2 and all greenhouse gases from international aviation in 2003 are estimated to have been 29.7 and 30.0 MtCeq/yr respectively.

Badgers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to review the working of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

Jim Knight: The Department is looking at how it implements its licensing responsibilities under the Act. This process has already started with a public consultation which closed on 5 February 2004. The Department is in the process of summarising those responses. It is hoped that these will be published by the end of August.
	From these responses we will develop proposals for change and we will go out for further consultation on these. The potential effect of the coming together of the two licensing authorities (English Nature and parts of Defra) into the new integrated agency, Natural England, will also need to be considered.
	This review of licensing procedures does not include any plans to open up the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 for amendment.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanism exists to review the status of land designated for public access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Jim Knight: Section 10 of the Act requires the Countryside Agency to review the conclusive map of open country and registered common land not more than ten years after the time that the conclusive map was first issued and not less frequently than every ten years thereafter. These periods may be amended by regulation. At the time of the review the Agency must consider whether land shown on the conclusive map as open country and registered common land remains open country and registered common land, and whether any other land covered by the conclusive map for that area should now be shown as open country and registered common land.
	Section 11 of the Act makes provision to make regulations supplementing the provisions of section 10 of the Act including the procedure to be followed by the Countryside Agency in reviewing the maps.

Horse Manure

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent changes have been made to regulations governing disposal of substantial amounts of horse manure by equestrian establishments.

Ben Bradshaw: Changes have recently been made to a number of exemptions from waste management licensing in the Waste Management Licensing (England and Wales) (Amendment and Related Provisions) Regulations 2005. These amendments are due to come into force on 1 July 2005 and include changes to the composting exemption.
	The amended composting exemption will require establishments and undertakings to compost manure on an impermeable pavement with sealed drainage. A charge will also be made for registration of the exemption. The charge will depend on size of operation and is made so that the Environment Agency can recover the cost of regulation.
	These changes will not apply to the storage of manure. They will only apply to the active mixing of manure with other biodegradable waste to make compost.
	All individuals and most liveries, stables and other establishments that keep horses will not be subject to the recent changes. If the pile is simply manure there is no need to apply for a waste licence or register an exemption from one.

Marine Environment

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to bring forward legislation to protect the marine environment.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government are committed to publication of a draft Marine Bill in the first session of this Parliament. Introduction of the Bill will follow later in this Parliament, once we have considered the outcome of both a public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill.

Quota Fishing

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the consequences for the Spanish Government of losing ECJ case C-42/03 (OJ C19 of 22 January 2005) on failing to control excess to quota fishing; what representations she has made on the issue; what the scale of surfeit was; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The ECJ found that the Spanish Government failed to fulfill obligations relating to the management of its fishing quotas during the period 1990 to 1997, and ordered Spain to pay the costs of the case. On the basis of information provided by Spain the amount of overfishing was as shown in the table.
	
		
			  Amount (tonnes) 
		
		
			 1990 1,186 
			 1991 1,728 
			 1992 2,196 
			 1993 179 
			 1994 378 
			 1995 3,737 
			 1996 62 
			 1997 72 
		
	
	It is for the Spanish Government to consider the implications of the court's ruling. The UK Government has made no representations on this case.

Sewerage

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce requirements that all sewers and drains are laid by suitably qualified persons.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 25 May 2005
	A protocol for the construction of new sewers was published in 2002. Its aim is to put into practice a common approach for the design and construction for new development, to enable wider adoption of sewers in England and Wales.
	A review of the effectiveness of the protocol was recently undertaken on the Department's behalf. Its findings indicate that developers are not always adhering to the protocol. The Government are now considering the results of this review and its possible implications for the current arrangements for the construction of sewers.
	I understand that Energy and Utility Skills Ltd, the Sector Skills Council whose purpose is to identify the skill needs of employers and provide effective training solutions in the electricity, gas, waste management and water industries, offers a 13 week Ambition Energy programme. This has been designed for operators who are involved in the maintenance of the sewerage infrastructure.

Snares and Traps

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish a summary of responses to the consultation on "Snares and Traps, The Way Forward", which closed on 13 November 2003.

Jim Knight: Defra carried out an informal consultation in England on traps and snares at the end of 2003. As the consultation sought general views on the use of snares under Section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and traps under section 8 of the Pests Act 1954, there is no requirement to publish a summary of responses.
	The principle outcome of the consultation was the convening of an independent snares working group. The aim of the working group is to agree good practice guidelines, produce a code of good practice and advise Defra on the next steps.

Whales

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the International Whaling Commission's approach to the protection of minke and humpback whales.

Ben Bradshaw: Since the 1985–86 whaling seasons, the International Whaling Commission has maintained a moratorium on the hunting and killing of all great whales, including minke and humpbacked whales. Norway objected to the introduction of the moratorium, is thus not bound by it and hunts minke whales legally; Japan and Iceland abide by the moratorium, but pursue so-called 'scientific whaling' as provided for under Article VIII of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling.
	The UK Government are strongly opposed to all forms of whaling other than limited whaling by indigenous people to meet a substantiated subsistence need. We regularly protest to Norway, Japan and Iceland about their continued whaling operations which, though legal, are not in keeping with the spirit of the IWC.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Catholic/Protestant Areas (Population Numbers)

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of people living in Northern Ireland were living in areas that were more than 90 per cent. (a) Catholic and (b) Protestant in each of the last three censuses.

Angela Smith: Table 1 shows the percentage of people living in Northern Ireland in areas (ie electoral wards) where more than 90 per cent. had (a) a Catholic community background and (b) a Protestant community background according to the 2001 census. Community background information was derived from the responses provided to the current religion and religion brought up in questions, the latter question being asked of those who indicated that they did not currently belong to any particular religion.
	
		Table 1: Based on community background (religion or religion brought up in)
		
			 Percentage of people in Northern Ireland living in electoral wards more than: 2001 census 
		
		
			 90 per cent. Catholic 15.8 
			 90 per cent. Protestant 12.0 
		
	
	Note:
	The category Protestant relates to Protestant and other Christian (including Christian related)
	The provision of community background information was a new development in the 2001 census aimed at meeting the need for additional equality monitoring data. Directly comparable information is not available for either of the two previous censuses in 1991 and 1981, which gathered information on current religion only. Table 2 presents the results for 1981, 1991 and 2001 based on responses to the religion question.
	
		Table 2: Based on religion
		
			 Percentage of people in Northern Ireland living in Electoral Wards that were more than: 1981 census 1991 census 2001 census 
		
		
			 90 per cent. Catholic 0.0 9.0 8.7 
			 90 per cent. Protestant 0.8 0.3 0.0 
		
	
	Note:
	For 1981 and 1991, the Protestant category includes other denominations which comprised both other Christian (including Christian related) and other religions and philosophies. In 2001 the Protestant category excludes other religions and philosophies, which accounted for 0.3 per cent. of the population.
	The figures in table 2 are affected by non-response to the religion question and people stating that they have no religion. The proportion of people falling into this category in each of the past three censuses were 18.5 per cent. in 1981, 11.0 per cent. in 1991 and 13.9 per cent. in 2001. Many electoral wards where the Catholic or Protestant percentage of the population is high fall short of being 90 per cent. Catholic or Protestant because of the presence of people who have not responded to the religion question or stated that they have no current religion.

Children's Fund

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Children's Fund.

Angela Smith: In the course of the Northern Ireland Priorities and Budget 2005–08 process, Ministers concluded that, rather than having a separate allocation process for the Children's Fund, the unallocated sums that had previously been earmarked over the Budget period should be allocated within the mainstream Budget process.
	Although the published Priorities and Budget document does not explicitly refer to the Children's Fund, all commitments to existing Children's Fund projects have been honoured and the allocation to the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety includes almost £15 million, on a specific ring-fenced basis, for this purpose. The issue of further ring-fenced allocations for future years will be considered in subsequent Budget processes.

Northern Ireland Prison Service

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether an audit has been conducted of whether there is a neutral working environment in the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Shaun Woodward: While no specific audit has been completed in regards to a neutral working environment, it is the Northern Ireland Prison Service policy that all managers and supervisors are responsible for ensuring that:
	any material, which, is offensive or potentially offensive is not displayed or circulated in the workplace;
	they are alert to unacceptable behaviour and take appropriate action;
	complaints are taken seriously; and
	staff are not victimised in any way.
	This policy is enforced by senior management on their visits to work locations.
	The service proactively encourages staff to report any incidents where the neutral working environment has been breached. Steps taken include:
	New policies are subject to Section 75 review;
	All staff entering the NIPS receive equal opportunity awareness training;
	All staff are issued with a copy of the Harassment and Bullying Policy Statement and Guidance;
	A new equal opportunities guide has just been printed and will be issued to all staff;
	Harassment contact officers are available at all work locations;
	Posters relating to equality are widely displayed on notice boards at each work location.

Northern Ireland Prison Service

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will break down the complement of the Northern Ireland Prison Service in each of the last five years by (a) community background and (b) gender.

Shaun Woodward: The breakdown of the complement of the Northern Ireland Prison Service grades for the last five years is detailed as follows. There has been little change in the composition—only 130 prison service grade staff have been recruited in this period.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Male Female Protestant Roman Catholic Non determined 
		
		
			 Prison service grades 
			 2001 83.95 16.1 79.2 8.4 12.4 
			 2002 83.9 16.1 79.2 8.6 12.2 
			 2003 83.7 16.3 80.1 8.3 11.6 
			 2004 83.8 16.2 80.2 8.2 11.6 
			 2005 83.2 16.8 80.2 8.7 11.1 
			 General service grades   
			 2001 39.9 60.1 74.8 21.8 3.4 
			 2002 39.1 60.9 74.1 21.8 4.1 
			 2003 36.7 63.3 75.1 22.8 2.1 
			 2004 34.5 65.5 76.9 21.2 1.9 
			 2005 33.0 67.0 75.9 22.5 1.6

Northern Ireland Prison Service

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when, on present trends, it is calculated that the Northern Ireland Prison Service will be reflective of the community as a whole in terms of community background.

Shaun Woodward: Over recent years the Northern Ireland Prison Service has significantly reduced staffing levels as a result of the closure of HMP Belfast and HMP Maze. There has been no major recruitment campaigns to affect the composition of the service.
	In the service's recruitment competition for night custody officers last year it specifically encouraged Roman Catholics and women to apply. The wording of the welcome statements in the job advertisements read as follows:
	"The Northern Ireland Prison Service is committed to equality of opportunity in employment. All applications for employment will be considered strictly on the basis of merit.
	The service welcomes applications from all suitably qualified applicants irrespective of religious belief, gender, race, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation or whether or not they have dependants. As Roman Catholics and women are currently known to be under-represented in the Northern Ireland Prison Service, applications from the Roman Catholic section of the community and from women would be particularly welcome".
	Given the small number of staff currently being recruited it is not at this stage practicable to determine when the composition of the service will fully reflect the wider population of Northern Ireland.

Senior Civil Service Review

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the implementation of the Senior Civil Service Review;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on progress in implementing each recommendation made by the Senior Civil Service Review.

Angela Smith: An action plan on the recommendations arising from the Ouseley Review of the Senior Civil Service in Northern Ireland was put out for public consultation in July 2002. A comprehensive update, detailing the progress made against the recommendations was published in January 2005. A copy of the update has been placed in the Library.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Interests

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition he uses of the term British interests worldwide.

Jack Straw: British interests worldwide can be described as the promotion of a secure and prosperous United Kingdom in a safe, just and prosperous world. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is guided in its work to promote and protect these interests by the command paper UK International Priorities: A Strategy for the FCO published in December 2003. This sets out the UK's international priorities and objectives and the role of the FCO in achieving them. Further information on the Strategy can be found on the FCO website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet7Front?pagenam=OpenMarke t/Xcelerate/PreviewPage&AssetType=Page&ResolvePa geId=FCO_OBJ_StrategyMain.

Burma

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Burma regarding violations of religious freedom for Christians and Muslims.

Ian Pearson: Our ambassador in Rangoon has drawn to the attention of the Burmese Foreign Minister the serious concerns expressed by hon. Members and Peers of both Houses about the question of religious freedom in Burma. Most recently, our ambassador reminded the Foreign Minister on 16 May that UK parliamentarians are particularly concerned about human rights abuses in ethnic areas.
	The UK works closely with its international partners to press for improvements to human rights in Burma. When the EU Troika, including the United Kingdom, met the Burmese Foreign Minister in Kyoto on 6 May they emphasised the need for the regime to enter into a constructive dialogue with ethnic groups to achieve lasting national reconciliation.
	Discrimination and persecution on the basis of religious or ethnic background has been condemned in successive UK and EU co-sponsored UN Resolutions on Burma, most recently at the UN Commission on Human Rights in April. We fully support the efforts in this field of the UN Secretary General's Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Sergio Pinheiro.
	We will continue to raise our concerns at every suitable opportunity.

EU Presidency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to include diversity issues in the themes of the UK Presidency of the EU.

Douglas Alexander: One of the Government's priorities during the UK Presidency of the EU will be to start implementing key parts of the justice and home affairs programme agreed in The Hague in 2004. Specifically, we will seek to focus the EU on practical measures which will benefit all citizens. The Government are also looking at proposals to support diversity-related events that take place during our Presidency.

European Administrative School

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the establishment of the European Administrative School; what its role is; whether European Parliament personnel will be required to attend, with particular reference to political group staff; what requirement there will be for balance in the presentation of European integration; and where it will be sited.

Douglas Alexander: The European Administrative School (EAS) was established in order to step up investment in the professional training of the staff of the various European Institutions, namely: the European Parliament; Council; Commission; Court of Justice; Court of Auditors; European Economic and Social Committee; Committee of the Regions; and the European Ombudsman. Its role is to:
	design, organise and evaluate training activities;
	facilitate participation in external activities; and
	carry out any tasks related to or in support of its duties.
	The training will include management courses for officials who perform management functions and induction courses for new members of staff. Other courses may also be organised by each of the institutions in line with their specific needs. European Parliament personnel, including political group staff, will only be required to attend if the training is necessary for them in their role.
	The EAS is currently attached administratively to the European Communities Personnel Selection Office in Brussels. As a general rule, the courses organised by the school will be given in both Brussels and Luxembourg, but other places of employment may be taken into consideration.
	The EAS gives training in administrative duties, not presentation of European integration.

European Security and Defence Policy

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress being made on European Security and Defence Policy.

Douglas Alexander: Since its beginnings in 1998, European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) has developed considerably. It has enabled the EU to launch three peacekeeping operations: in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2003); Macedonia (2003); and Bosnia (December 2004). The Bosnia operation took over from NATO's Stabilisation Force and is proving the efficacy of the Berlin Plus arrangements agreed in 2003 for EU access to NATO assets.
	The EU has also launched a number of civilian ESDP missions. These include police missions in Macedonia, Bosnia and the Democratic Republic of Congo; a rule of law mission in Georgia; and, most recently, an integrated rule of law mission for Iraq, to provide training for high and middle-ranking officials in the criminal justice system. The EU's first security sector reform mission, with both civilian and military elements, will be launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 2 June.
	Beyond operations, successes include the establishment of the European Defence Agency in 2004 to drive forward capability development and improve defence-industrial co-operation; the continuing development of a capacity for military and joint civil/military planning, based on agreed consultation arrangements with NATO; and the establishment of Initial Operating Capability for the rapid-response Battlegroups initiative, with Full Operating Capability expected in 2007. Most recently, a Civil/Military Cell has been established to strengthen strategic planning for joint civil/military missions. It is still recruiting staff; once recruitment is complete, it will play an important part in the EU's efforts to improve the co-ordination of its wide range of security instruments in order to act more coherently and effectively in crisis management, not least in liaison with other key actors, such as the UN and the African Union.
	More broadly, the development of military and civilian capabilities continues, including post-tsunami work on improving the EU's disaster response capability. The agreed military Headline Goal 2010 focuses on deployability, sustainability and interoperability.
	The UK continues to play a leading role. For example, we proposed the Battlegroups initiative jointly with France, and have made a national Battlegroup available on standby for the first six months of Initial Operating Capability (January-June 2005); and the December 2004 Council agreement on planning capabilities was based on a UK-France-Germany proposal.
	The Luxembourg Presidency will issue a report on ESDP progress at the European Council on 16 June, which will be issued to Parliament for scrutiny. A White Paper on the UK Presidency will be published on 30 June that will highlight progress made on ESDP so far this year and EU objectives for the remainder.

European Union Civil Service Tribunal

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) role, (b) membership and (c) legal basis of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal.

Douglas Alexander: The Council of Ministers announced its Decision creating the European Union Civil Service Tribunal on 2 November 2004. Work to enable the Tribunal to begin operations is currently in progress. The Council Decision makes the following provisions.
	(a) The Tribunal will adjudicate in disputes between the EU's institutions and their officials and other staff.
	(b) The Council of Ministers will appoint seven judges after an open call for applications, in consultation with an independent committee consisting of former members of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and Court of First Instance, and other lawyers of recognised competence.
	(c) The legal basis for the Decision setting up the Tribunal (Council Decision 2004/752/EC, Euratom of 2 November 2004) is Article 225a of the EC Treaty. The Tribunal is an integral part of the ECJ.

DEFENCE

Combat Clothing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the combat clothing items delivered under the cut and sew contract have been supplied from China.

Adam Ingram: To date over 193,000 items (of which over 85,000 are combat clothing items) under the cut and sew contract, have been delivered within the prime contractors supply chain from a variety of sources, both in the UK and overseas. This includes around 70,000 items of combat clothing supplied from China.

Darfur

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts regarding a role for NATO in the Darfur region.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom strongly supports the expansion of the African Union mission in Darfur and is working not just with NATO, but with the EU and the UN to find the best means by which the international community as a whole can support the African Union's objectives. The Secretary of State for Defence discussed the provision of support to the mission in Darfur with fellow EU Defence Ministers, the EU High Representative and the NATO Secretary-General at the meeting of the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 23 May.

Darfur

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role he expects NATO to play in Darfur.

Adam Ingram: As requested by Mr. Alpha Oumar Konare, the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, NATO is considering, in close consultation with the EU and the UN, what logistical support it can best provide to the African Union's peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Full details of NATO's contribution will become clearer following a donor conference in Addis Ababa on 26 May 2005, but it is likely to include: assistance with the deployment of the expanded African Union mission, including strategic lift, and the training of African Union personnel to improve their capacity.

Departmental Estate

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's properties and areas of land are (a) listed for disposal and (b) under consideration for disposal.

Don Touhig: Details of Ministry of Defence properties and land currently listed for disposal are available in the Library of the House. It should be noted however that the need to retain such properties and land is constantly under review. Consequently the list changes frequently and generally it is updated quarterly.
	I regret that I am unable to provide a list of properties and land being considered for disposal due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information. I can however, assure the hon. Member that the Ministry of Defence does not seek to retain a site once it has been clearly established that there is no known defence requirement to do so.

MARS Programme

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timetable is for the MARS programme.

Adam Ingram: The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme is currently in the Concept Phase. We are planning for the Assessment Phase to commence shortly, and for the main investment decision to be made in 2008.

Parachute Centre, Acklington

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Department has objected to the planning application for a parachute jumping centre at Acklington, Northumberland on grounds of possible conflict with low-flying military aircraft.

Don Touhig: The Ministry of Defence has not raised any objection to the proposed parachute jumping centre at Acklington, Northumberland.

RAF Menwith Hill

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was reimbursed by the US authorities at RAF Menwith Hill in lieu of payment to the MoD Police Agency in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency received the following amounts from the United States authorities in the last five years in relation to services provided at Menwith Hill.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2004–05 5,898,000 
			 2003–04 4,624,000 
			 2002–03 4,514,000 
			 2001–02 1,725,000 
			 2000–01 1,660,000

Soldiers' Kit

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government is spending on improving the personal kit of soldiers in the armed forces.

Adam Ingram: Last year the Ministry of Defence spent around £1.3 million on developing improvements to clothing and other personal equipment. In addition over £8 million was spent to provide additional enhancements to personal equipment for personnel deployed on operations.
	Future requirements are planned to be met by the personal equipment and common operational clothing (PECOC) programme which will deliver a coherent and integrated system of operational clothing and equipment, including improved ballistic protection, meeting the needs of service personnel in the next decade and beyond.

TREASURY

Revenue and Customs Offices (Wales)

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future use of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs offices in Wales.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs is preparing business plans to meet its efficiency savings for 2005–08. It is too early to say how this might affect any particular office.

National Insurance Contributions

Peter Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the rate of national insurance contributions.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to the hon. Members for Congleton (Ann Winterton) and for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley).

National Insurance Contributions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the rate of National Insurance contributions.

Dawn Primarolo: The national insurance contribution rates are set in the Budget.

G7 Presidency

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK's aims for progress towards the millennium development goals under its presidency of the G7.

Gordon Brown: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan).

Government Borrowing

David Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of Government net borrowing.

Des Browne: Budget projections show that net borrowing is expected to fall to a prudent level of 1.5 per cent. of GDP by 2009–10.

Aviation (Emissions)

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further plans he has to use economic instruments to minimise climate change-related emissions from the aviation sector.

John Healey: The Government are committed to aviation joining the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter. This will be a priority for the UK's presidency of the EU later this year.
	The Air Transport White Paper also said that Government would press for other emissions reducing actions by the industry, and continue to explore options for the use of other economic instruments.

Manufacturing Growth

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of rates of growth in manufacturing in the last year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: Official figures, published by the Office for National Statistics suggest that in 2004 manufacturing output rose by 1.4 per cent. manufacturing productivity rose by 5.3 per cent., manufacturing exports increased by 2 per cent. and business investment in the manufacturing sector rose by 3.2 per cent.—its highest growth rate for six years.

Office for National Statistics

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the status of the Office for National Statistics as a Government agency.

John Healey: The Government established the current Framework for National Statistics, which became operational in 2000. The Government's overriding aim in introducing the Framework has been to assure the quality of official statistics, and ensure freedom from political interference in their compilation and presentation. The Government committed to review the operation of the Framework after five years.

Direct Taxation

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of direct taxation on the state of the economy.

Ivan Lewis: Since 1997 the Government have consistently delivered macro-economic stability with strong growth and low inflation, thus establishing a track record that has been internationally acknowledged. The Government's approach to taxation balances the need to finance better quality public services, promote sustainable development and economic activity and ensure a fair tax environment.

International Finance Facility for Immunisation

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with EU and other governments on the International Finance Facility for Immunisation.

Ivan Lewis: The IFF for Immunisation (IFFIm) is a pilot for the UK's proposal for an IFF to raise an additional $50 billion a year in development aid to help developing countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The IFFIm will demonstrate the technical feasibility of the larger IFF and the significant benefits of frontloading aid, disbursing $4 billion to save an additional 5 million children's lives in the years to 2015.
	The UK, France and Sweden have committed to participate in the IFFIm and Germany and Italy support the proposal. We will continue to engage with other countries within the G8, EU and UN in order to finalise and launch the IFFIm.

Full Employment

Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is making to achieve full employment in every region.

Ivan Lewis: The Government's measures to achieve full employment in every region are built on a platform of macro-economic stability, and include new deal, investment in skills and training, and policies to make work pay. These policies have seen over 2 million more people in work since 1997, a record employment level.

Alcoholic Beverages (Fruit Content)

David Heath: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the minimum fruit content is, expressed in percentage by volume, required for an alcoholic beverage to be treated as a cider or perry for the purposes of duty.

Dawn Primarolo: For the purposes of excise duty, cider and perry are defined as being of a strength exceeding 1.2 per cent. but less than 8.5 per cent. alcohol by volume, and obtained from the fermentation of apple or pear juice. HMRC also allow the addition of certain approved ingredients to impart colour or flavouring to the cider or perry.

Autism

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of people suffering from autism who are in employment; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Laurence Robertson, dated 26 May 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the percentage of people suffering from autism who are in employment in the UK. I am replying in his absence. (676)
	The attached table shows the information available relating to the health problems which were quoted by respondents to the Labour Force Survey, who were in employment, as affecting the work they do. The condition of autism is not specifically identified in the available data.
	This estimate from the Labour Force Survey is, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	
		Persons of working age(3) in employment with long-term health problems affecting the work they do: United Kingdom -- Three months ending February 2005
		
			 Not seasonally adjusted 
			  Million Percentage(4) 
		
		
			 Total of working age 36.4 100.0 
			
			 Condition quoted by LFS respondents:   
			 All conditions — 15.6 
			 Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with arms or hands — 0.8 
			 Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with legs or feet — 1.5 
			 Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with back or neck — 2.2 
			 Difficulty in seeing (while wearing spectacles or contact lenses) — 0.2 
			 Difficulty in hearing — 0.4 
			 A speech impediment — 0.0 
			 Severe disfigurement, skin conditions, allergies — 0.5 
			 Chest or breathing problems, asthma, bronchitis — 2.8 
			 Heart, blood pressure blood circulation problems — 2.5 
			 Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems — 1.0 
			 Diabetes — 1.1 
			 Depression, bad nerves or anxiety — 0.4 
			 Epilepsy — 0.3 
			 Severe or specific learning difficulties (mental handicap) — 0.2 
			 Mental illness or suffer from phobia, panics or other nervous disorders — 0.1 
			 Progressive illness not included elsewhere (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis, symptomatic HIV, Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy) — 0.4 
			 Other health problems or disabilities — 1.4 
		
	
	(3) Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59.
	(4) Persons in employment with long-term health problems (12 months or more) as a percentage of total population of working age.
	Source:
	ONS—Labour Force Survey

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter dated 9 March from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding Form VAT 1—Application for Registration.

Dawn Primarolo: I did so on 16 May.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter, from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (a) dated 29 March regarding Inland Revenue penalties and (b) dated 5 April regarding small business tax burden.

Dawn Primarolo: I have done so.

Drug Sniffer Dogs

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many drug sniffer dogs are being (a) used at ports of entry into the UK and (b) trained.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 1 May 2005, there were 24 drug dogs in operation in HM Revenue and Customs at major ports of entry into the UK. All operational dogs are fully trained however at this present time there are no drugs dogs undergoing training.

Drug-related Deaths

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many drug-related deaths there have been in (a) Wales and (b) England in each year since 2001.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Bill Wiggin, dated 26 May 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many drug-related deaths there have been in (a) Wales and (b) England in each year since 2001. (1077)
	Figures are readily available from death certification on deaths due to drug poisoning, not the total number that were drug-related. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2003. Numbers of deaths certified as due to drug poisoning for (a) Wales and (b) England in the three years 2001 to 2003 are given in the table below.
	Figures are not readily available where death was indirectly related to the use of drugs, as the direct cause is generally selected as the underlying cause of death (e.g. HIV infection).
	
		Deaths related to drug poisoning,(5) for (a) Wales(6) and (b) England,(6) 2001–03(7)
		
			 Calendar year (a) Wales (b) England 
		
		
			 2001 175 2,699 
			 2002 152 2,507 
			 2003 147 2,288 
		
	
	(5) Defined using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10): F11-F16, F18-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, Y10-Y14, X85.
	(6) Usual residence of the deceased.
	(7) Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.

Employment Rates

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the net change in the number of jobs in the (a) agricultural and (b) manufacturing industry in Wales was in 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Bill Wiggin, dated 26 May 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about net change in jobs in agriculture and manufacturing in Wales in 2004. I am replying in his absence. (1084)
	The attached table provides estimates of the net change in employee jobs in 'agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing' and 'manufacturing' in Wales, between December 2003 and the latest available date, December 2004.
	Estimates for agriculture, separate from hunting, forestry and fishing are not available for Wales.
	
		Employee jobs in Wales
		
			 Thousand 
			 As at December: Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing Manufacturing 
		
		
			 2003 13 180 
			 2004 13 177 
			 Net change 0 -3 
		
	
	Source:
	Employee jobs, ONS

Employment Rates

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the 10 local authority areas in the UK with the (a) lowest employment rate and (b) highest unemployment rate; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Laws, dated 26 May 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment. (808)
	The attached tables give estimates respectively of the lowest and the highest employment rates for Unitary Authorities and Local Authority Districts in United Kingdom, for the twelve-month period ending February 2004.
	These estimates from the Labour Force Survey are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
	
		Table 1: Unitary authorities and local authority districts with the lowest working age employment rates in United Kingdom—12 months ending February 2004
		
			  Percentage(8) 
		
		
			 Derry 49.8 
			 Newham 52.4 
			 Tower Hamlets 55.4 
			 Easington (County Durham) 57.3 
			 Haringey 57.3 
			 Hackney 58.4 
			 Belfast 59.9 
			 Manchester 59.9 
			 Nottingham 60.5 
			 Liverpool 60.6 
		
	
	(8) People in employment as a percentage of all men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.
	Source:
	ONS Annual local area Labour Force Survey
	
		Table 2: Unitary and local authority districts with the highest working age employment rates in United Kingdom—12 months ending February 2004
		
			  Percentage(9) 
		
		
			 City of London (10)100.0 
			 Melton (Leicestershire) 89.5 
			 West Oxfordshire 89.3 
			 Babergh (Suffolk) 87.9 
			 Rossendale (Lancashire) 87.1 
			 North West Leicestershire 87.0 
			 South Northamptonshire 86.9 
			 Taunton Deane (Somerset) 86.8 
			 Forest Heath (Suffolk) 86.7 
			 Daventry (Northamptonshire) 86.3 
		
	
	(9) People in employment as a percentage of all men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.
	(10) Based a very small number of cases sampled in the survey.
	Source:
	ONS Annual local area Labour Force Survey

Entry Processing Units

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons Chatham entry processing unit has been closed.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 May 2005
	Chatham entry processing unit has not been closed. Customs are considering alternative ways of discharging their responsibilities and these will be discussed with the trade prior to implementation.

Entry Processing Units

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what environmental impact assessment was prepared before the selection of Dover entry processing unit (EPU) over Chatham EPU.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 May 2005
	No environmental impact assessment has been carried out as our proposals do not require any additional lorry journeys to Dover.

Entry Processing Units

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the criteria that led to the selection of Dover entry processing unit over Chatham EPU.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 May 2005
	Import and export entry clearance can now be handled, via electronic means, from any location. Given this, it is sensible to locate clearance activity where the best service can be provided to UK trade. Dover has three times as many staff as Chatham and, unlike Chatham, can provide a 24-hour service, seven days a week. Preliminary soundings among trade representatives has confirmed that this level of service will meet their operational needs.

Entry Processing Units

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used in making the decision that (a) Felixstowe, (b) Tilbury and (c) Dover would keep its entry processing unit.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 May 2005
	Felixstowe, Tilbury, Dover, Southampton, Manchester and Heathrow have been identified as the locations with the greatest volumes of activity. Together they currently handle around 85 per cent. of all UK imports and exports, have substantial numbers of trained staff who can handle the remaining 15 per cent. and are strategically located throughout the UK. The future of non location critical activity at these locations is being considered as part of a major international trade project. The trade are being consulted during this project.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the (i) Customs Code Committee—counterfeit and pirated goods, (ii) Customs Code Committee—single administrative document and (iii) Customs Code Committee—movement of air or sea passengers' baggage (technical problems) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows.
	(i) Customs Code Committee—counterfeit and pirated goods.
	Italian presidency
	12 September 2003
	Irish presidency
	20 January 2004
	16 February 2004
	Dutch presidency
	1 June 2004
	(ii) Customs Code Committee—single administrative document
	Italian presidency
	13 October 2003
	Irish presidency
	20 February 2004
	30 April 2004
	Dutch presidency
	10 September 2004
	26 November 2004
	All these meetings were held in Brussels and the UK was represented by HM Customs and Excise.
	(iii) Customs Code—movement of air or sea passengers baggage.
	I am not aware of the Committee meeting in this period.

Gershon Report

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his timetable is for the implementation of the Gershon report in respect of the Ministry of Defence.

Des Browne: The Government fully accepted the recommendations contained within Sir Peter Gershon's report and embedded these efficiency targets into the 2004 Spending Review settlements. Like all Government Departments, the Ministry of Defence is committed to deliver its agreed efficiency targets by 2007–08,

Gross Domestic Product

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what gross domestic product per capita was in (a) Wales, (b) England and (c) the UK in the last period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Bill Wiggin, dated 26 May 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about GDP per capita in Wales, England and the UK in the last period for which figures are available. I am replying in his absence. (1078)
	The latest published information is for 2003.
	The estimates in the table are based on the regional Gross Value Added 1 (GVA) estimates published in December 2004. These are available on the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359. The figures are in current prices and do not, therefore, allow for the change in prices over time (inflation) or differences in price levels (purchasing power) between regions at a point in time.
	
		GVA per capita Wales, England and United Kingdom
		
			 £ 
			  GVA per capita Wales GVA per capita England GVA per capita UK less extra-regio(12) 
		
		
			 1997 9,809 12,313 12,085 
			 1998 10,166 13,085 12,807 
			 1999 10,487 13,641 13,337 
			 2000 10,869 14,185 13,867 
			 2001 11,440 14,889 14,545 
			 2002 11,971 15,633 15,273 
			 2003 12,629 16,339 15,980 
		
	
	(11) Information presented here is Gross Value Added (GVA) which is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products.
	(12) Extra regio is that part of the UK's economic territory which cannot be allocated to any specific region.

Gross Domestic Product

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross domestic product in the UK was accounted for by public sector expenditure in each of the last five years.

Des Browne: Figures for total managed expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product are available from Budget 2005 (HC 372) in Table C25: Historical series of Government expenditure (page 275).

London (Revenues/Expenditure)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the balance between revenues raised from and public expenditure spent in London.

Des Browne: London's contribution to the Exchequer reflects the tax liability of London's businesses and employees in line with the UK's progressive national tax system.
	In 2003–04 identifiable public expenditure per capita in London was 16 per cent. higher than the UK average—the highest per capita spending in England.

Low-income Households

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average income level was of the lowest earning 20 per cent. of households in each Government Office Region in the last period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The average net equivalised weekly household income of the lowest earning 20 per cent. of households in each Government Office Region in 2004–05 is listed as follows
	
		
			 Government region Mean income Median income 
		
		
			 North East 218 223 
			 North West 228 234 
			 York and Humber 221 231 
			 East Midlands 230 237 
			 West Midlands 224 230 
			 Eastern 249 255 
			 London 246 254 
			 South East 263 271 
			 South West 232 243 
			 Wales 219 225 
			 Scotland 229 236 
			 Northern Ireland 223 223 
			 All regions 233 241 
		
	
	The average household incomes are on a before-housing-cost basis and are based on the department's tax and benefit model (IGOTM) using the Family Resources Survey 2003–04, uprated to 2004–05 prices. Analysis by government office region often results in small sample sizes and therefore these results should be treated with caution.
	The equivalised basis takes into account variations in both the size and the composition of households.

Migration

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of likely net migration in each of the next 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: The most recent estimates come from the Government Actuary's latest (2003-based) national population projections. The information requested is available from the GAD website at: http://www.gad.gov.uk/Population/2003/methodology/migrass.htm

Oil Exports

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution has been made to the UK's balance of trade by oil exports in each year from 1999 to 2004; and what contribution it is estimated will be made for each year between 2005 to 2010.

John Healey: The UK runs a trade surplus in oil. In 2004 this surplus stood at £2 billion. In the same period, exports of oil accounted for 8.3 per cent. of total UK goods exports and 5.8 per cent, of total UK goods and services exports. The following table includes figures showing oil exports as a percentage of total exports from 1999–2004.
	
		Oil exports, value
		
			  Share of total goods exports (percentage) Share of total goods and services exports (percentage) Trade balance in oil (£ million) 
		
		
			 1999 6.1 4.6 4,448 
			 2000 6.5 4.9 6,536 
			 2001 6.0 4.4 5,579 
			 2002 4.3 3.0 5,738 
			 2003 5.5 3.8 4,124 
			 2004 8.3 5.8 1,954 
		
	
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics
	HM Treasury does not publish forecasts for trade in oil.

Pensions (Tax Relief)

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost of tax relief on pensions in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by each area of relief; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Latest estimates of the annual cost of tax relief on private pensions are available on Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/table7_9_september04.pdf
	These estimates take account of the relief given on contributions to personal, stakeholder and occupational pensions and the investment income of funds, net of tax on existing private pensions in payment.

Stamp Duty

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been raised from stamp duty on (a) residential properties and (b) commercial properties in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: Estimates of stamp duty revenues raised in the UK in 1997–98 for residential and commercial transaction types are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 (a) Residential 830 
			 (b) Commercial 665 
		
	
	Estimates for available years from 1998–99 are given at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/table15_3_october04.pdf

Tax Credit Overpayments

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will reply to the letter of 10 March 2005 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on overpayments of tax credits to constituents.

Dawn Primarolo: I have done so.

Unemployment Rates

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many of the 20 parliamentary constituencies with the highest unemployment rates in 1997 there were increases in the unemployment rate between 1997 and 2005; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Laws, dated 26 May 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment rates. (972)
	Of the 20 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain with the highest unemployment rates in 1997–98, none showed an increase between then and 2003–04. This is based on annual local area Labour Force Survey data which, as with any statistical sample survey, is subject to sampling variability.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas. Of the 20 parliamentary constituencies with the highest proportion of claimants of JSA expressed as a percentage of the resident working age population in April 1997, none had a higher proportion in April 2005.

VAT

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he (a) has implemented and (b) proposes to implement to reduce the rate of VAT for home improvements relating to (i) energy conservation and (ii) installation of renewable energy technologies.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to improving household efficiency as part of their programme to meet the Energy White Paper targets and see the use of economic instruments as an effective way to implement environmental policy.
	Under agreements with our European partners that govern the VAT system, we can apply a reduced rate of VAT of no lower than 5 per cent. on goods and services from within a prescribed list in the Sixth VAT Directive (Annex H). To date the Government have applied a reduced rate of 5 per cent. to the contractual installation of energy-saving materials such as insulation materials, heating controls, solar panels and ground source heat pumps and to the grant funded installation of renewable source heating systems.
	The Government also have a long-standing commitment to pursue an amendment to the Sixth VAT Directive to permit a reduced rate of VAT for the purchase of energy-saving materials for do-it-yourself installation and the purchase of energy efficient products. Negotiations on these changes are ongoing.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Antisocial Behaviour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour in schools.

Jacqui Smith: The Government's Improving Behaviour and Attendance Programme plays a crucial part in the drive to reduce antisocial behaviour in schools. We have a range of measures in place to reduce truancy and poor behaviour and reinforce parental responsibility for their child's behaviour. They include in-school Learning Support Units, multi-agency Behaviour and Education Support Teams, key workers for children at risk of crime, police in schools, and positive activity programmes in the school holidays. The programme also includes training for all school staff in managing pupil behaviour and preventing violence, as part of the Secondary National Strategy and Primary pilot. And we are encouraging schools to begin working together in collaborations to jointly tackle behaviour and attendance issues, greatly reducing the problems of persistent truancy and disruptive behaviour through early intervention and shared resources.
	In addition, the Anti-social Behaviour Act, which came into force in February 2004, has introduced penalty notices and parenting contracts for truancy and parenting contracts and orders for bad behaviour in schools.
	We also think it is important to tackle this through the school curriculum, where pupils learn about socially responsible behaviour as part of Citizenship education. And in primary schools, all pupils will soon have access to the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning materials, which we believe will contribute greatly to addressing the problems early and reducing antisocial behaviour both in and out of school.
	Last week it was announced that a new Stakeholder Group, to be chaired by the Minister of State for Schools and 14–19 Learners, has been formed to establish a strong partnership between Government and key stakeholders in the area of discipline in schools; and an expert Practitioners group will advise these key stakeholders on a range of behaviour issues. The Practitioners group will bring together school leaders with real, front line experience of turning schools round.

Cheating

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures are in place in (a) the state sector and (b) the private sector to prevent cheating in examinations or coursework leading to a qualification; what sanctions apply to those found to have cheated or assisted in cheating; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The regulatory authorities for England, Wales and Northern Ireland have produced a Code of Practice which sets out the responsibilities of awarding bodies, centres and the regulatory authorities for the provision and administration of assessment, including coursework. The code applies to all GCSE, GCE, VCE, GNVQ and AEA qualifications, regardless of what type of school or college they are taken in.
	The regulatory authorities monitor the awarding bodies to ensure that they adhere strictly to the Code of Practice. The code requires each awarding body to make sure that teachers take steps to satisfy themselves that coursework is solely the pupil's work. Teachers must also present a written declaration that each candidate's work was carried out under the required conditions.
	The Joint Council for Qualifications, on behalf of the awarding bodies, has also produced guidance for dealing with instances of suspected malpractice in examinations. The guidance is issued to all heads of centres, examination officers and others involved in managing examinations.
	Where an investigation establishes malpractice by a member of staff, the awarding body has the right to impose special conditions on the future involvement in its examinations by that member of staff. An awarding body may refuse to accept examination entries from a centre in cases where malpractice is established. There are a range of sanctions and penalties that may be imposed on candidates found guilty of breaking the regulations. These range from a warning through to loss of marks for the coursework element, disqualification from the whole qualification or barring the candidate from entering one or more examinations for a set period of time.

City Academies

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment the Government have made of the performance of the city academies.

Jacqui Smith: Academies are replacing some of the poorest schools in the country, in the most disadvantaged areas. While it is still very early days in the development of the programme, Academies are already achieving success in raising educational standards, improving behaviour and attendance and in attracting applications.
	Academies' most recent GCSE figures show improvements on average in the number of children gaining five or more good GCSEs: in 2003, their first year, the average 5+ A*-C GCSE results in the three open Academies was 24 per cent., compared to an average of 16 per cent. in their predecessor schools in 2002. The rate of improvement in Academies' Key Stage 3 results is outstripping the national average: for the 11 Academies reporting results in 2004—compared to those of their predecessor schools in 2001—KS3 English and maths results on average improved by nine percentage points (from 34 per cent. to 43 per cent., and 38 per cent. to 47 per cent.) compared to a six and seven percentage points increase nationally (from 65 per cent. to 71 per cent., and 66 per cent. to 73 per cent.).
	We have also commissioned Pricewaterhouse Coopers to carry out an independent five-year longitudinal evaluation of the Academies programme. The study will be looking at the impact of Academies on children from disadvantaged areas and their families, and communities, and the extent to which Academies raise educational standards and aspirations. The first Annual Report in 2003 looked only at the three then open Academies. We will be publishing the second Annual Report soon.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 31 March with regard to Ms Frances Ives.

Jacqui Smith: A response has been issued today.

Education (Hammersmith and Fulham)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary schools are under special measures in the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Jacqui Smith: There are two secondary schools in special measures in Hammersmith and Fulham. They are Burlington Danes Church of England school and Hurlingham and Chelsea secondary school.

Education (Hammersmith and Fulham)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions she has had with the Hammersmith and Fulham local education authority.

Jacqui Smith: In the last week, my officials have discussed with officers of the authority measures to support improvement in schools in Hammersmith and Fulham, to support the LEA and academies policy.

Education (Hammersmith and Fulham)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to improve educational standards in Hammersmith and Fulham, with particular reference to schools under special measures.

Jacqui Smith: There are no primary schools, and two secondary schools, in special measures in Hammersmith and Fulham.
	Advisers in my Department have developed a close working relationship with the Hammersmith and Fulham local authority. We are working together to raise attainment, raise attendance and levels of participation in learning, raise levels of literacy, strengthen behaviour support, improve recruitment and retention and tackle under-performance throughout the secondary sector.
	Eight secondary schools in Hammersmith and Fulham receive a Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG) of £135,000 per school in 2005–06. This three-year grant, which began in April 2003, is designed to raise standards, strengthen leadership at all levels and stimulate collaboration to improve standards of teaching and learning across groups of schools. The authority also receives £40,000 per year as a School Improvement Adviser grant, which is designed to increase school improvement capacity within local authorities.
	In addition, schools in Hammersmith and Fulham receive support from the London Challenge, focused, for example, on targeting year 11 pupils taking their GCSEs, and on supporting leadership at all levels. In each case, a London Challenge adviser works with the headteacher and local authority, through a School Improvement Partnership Board, to co-ordinate support for the school's improvement strategy.

FE Colleges

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects further education colleges to achieve parity of funding with schools.

Bill Rammell: We have brought up funding levels for Further Education (FE) as we said we would, without penalising schools. The Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) funding rates per course in FE have been rising faster than school sixth forms and the gap has narrowed.
	Our policy is to raise the level of funding for colleges, as and when we are able to secure the resources to do so.

Free School Meals

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money is provided by each local authority for each child eligible for a free school meal.

Jacqui Smith: This information is not currently collected centrally.

Fresh Start

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have been subject to the Fresh Start programme since its inception; and how many of these schools have been (a) closed and (b) converted to academies.

Jacqui Smith: 44 Schools have been included in the Government's Fresh Start programme so far, including three which are to open in September. Two Fresh Start schools have closed and one more is due to close this year. None has converted to an academy, but there are plans for Corby Community College in Northamptonshire to become an academy from September 2007.

Homophobic Abuse/Bullying

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Department is taking to combat homophobic abuse and bullying in schools.

Jacqui Smith: Tackling homophobic bullying in schools is an issue which is taken seriously by the Department; as with any other kind of bullying it cannot be tolerated. We must challenge homophobic language and attitudes wherever we find them and support our children and young people to do the same.
	In November 2004, we organised, in conjunction with the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), the first ever National Anti-Bullying Week which had a strong emphasis on combating homophobic bullying. During the week Stephen Twigg attended the 5th birthday celebration of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Young People, where he announced a new Diana Anti-bullying Award, for which we have given funding of £50,000. At this event, he also launched new guidance for schools entitled "Stand Up for Us: Challenging Homophobia in Schools" which was prepared by the National Healthy Schools Standard with considerable input from the Department. Stand Up For Us sets out a practical approach for schools to assess quickly the scale of homophobic bullying they face. And it offers practical steps schools can take to create an environment where everyone can feel welcome and valued and where specific instances of bullying are identified, challenged and dealt with effectively.
	During anti bullying week, we also published "Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools: a review and implications for action". This review, by the Thomas Coram Research Unit, looks at three areas: behaviour and bullying; teaching and learning about sexual orientation and relationships; and employment issues. It collates, summarises and assesses both peer reviewed research material, from this country and abroad, and less formal work conducted by bodies active in this area. It also reports the views of a wide range of organisations, 28 in all, with an interest in this area to paint a picture of how the issues are currently perceived. The report is available on the DfES website http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research and the findings will be used to inform future work in this area.
	The Departments work in this critical area is on-going and we supported Schools Out in promoting the first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month in February 2005, and have funded the development of a website which will raise awareness and encourage participation. The website suggested activities and events that schools, colleges, universities, libraries, museums, galleries, archives, and theatres could organise and offered teachers specific lesson plans and assembly suggestions to encourage and support schools in marking LGBT History Month. It also provided an online notice board of events and link to current news relevant to LGBT History Month.

Homophobic Abuse/Bullying

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Department plans to introduce a requirement for every school to have a policy to deal with homophobic bullying.

Jacqui Smith: The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires that maintained schools have a policy to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. In addition, 'Don't Suffer in Silence' the Department's anti-bullying guidance to schools advises that explicit reference be made to homophobic bullying and racist bullying in this policy. The guidance also offers a range of strategies to counter all forms of bullying and create an environment in which all members of the school community can thrive, and feel respected, safe and secure.
	The DfES Five Year Strategy states our expectation that all schools will sign up to the Anti Bullying Charter for Action, which is a voluntary commitment to creating a school community where bullying is not tolerated, and is signed by the Head Teacher, Chair of Governors and a Pupils' Representative. The anti-bullying Charter, which includes specific reference to homophobic bullying, went to every maintained school in England and is accompanied by a summary of effective practice to help schools review and enhance their anti-bullying policies.

Illiteracy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students left secondary school without being able to read and write between 1997 and 2004.

Jacqui Smith: Data are not recorded in the way the question asks, but the percentage of 15-year-old pupils in all schools achieving A*-G in GCSE English has improved from 88.5 per cent. in 1996/97 to 91 per cent. in 2003/04. However we should not draw the conclusion that those who do not achieve a GCSE grade in English are not able to read and write. The figures are set out in the following table.
	
		Time Series—GCSE achievements of 15-year-old pupils in all schools 1997/2004
		
			  Number of 15-year-old pupils(13) Percentage achieving A*-G in GCSE English 
		
		
			 2003/04 643,574 91.0 
			 2002/03 622,122 91.5 
			 2001/02 606,554 91.0 
			 2000/01 603,318 91.0 
			 1999/2000 580,393 91.9 
			 1998/99 580,972 91.4 
			 1997/98 575,210 89.5 
			 1996/97 586,766 88.5 
		
	
	(13) As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.

Key Stage 2

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the national curriculum assessment revised results at key stage 2 are for (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) English.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information is as shown:
	
		Percentage of pupils achieving expected level or above in 2003–04
		
			 Percentage 
			  Level 4 or above Level 5 
		
		
			 Provisional data   
			 Reading 83 39 
			 Writing 63 17 
			 English 77 27 
			
			 Revised data   
			 English 78 27

Pastry Chefs (Degrees)

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many universities offer degrees in cooking pastry that qualify people to become pastry chefs.

Bill Rammell: The information is not held centrally. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's website currently lists 16 universities and colleges which offer courses in culinary arts or management, but it does not include detailed descriptions of the content of these courses.

PISA Survey

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which organisation will be conducting the next round of the PISA survey.

Jacqui Smith: Following a competitive tendering exercise in 2004, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was appointed to administer PISA 2006 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Executive conducted a separate exercise and has appointed The SCRE Centre, University of Glasgow to run the study in Scotland.

Plumbing Courses

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what central funding is provided for training courses in plumbing in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: Central Government make a substantial investment in skills development through local Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) who determine how public funding for training is allocated in their area. The latest available figures for the Hertfordshire LSC do not separately identify plumbing. The LSC is currently providing £2,398,803 overall for learning in the construction trades, including plumbing. Construction has been identified as a high priority area by the Hertfordshire LSC for 2005/06.

Racial Abuse (Schools)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to protect those attending schools and other learning institutions from (a) racial abuse, (b) harassment and (c) assault; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures she is taking to protect teachers from physical and verbal assault from (a) students and (b) parents; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The great majority of schools are safe and orderly places. But we are determined to reduce the risk of abuse and violence to an absolute minimum. To achieve that we have:
	given every secondary school access to high-quality behaviour management training materials and expert advice from behaviour management consultants;
	funded extra support for schools facing the greatest challenges through our Excellence in Cities and Behaviour Improvement Programmes;
	provided £120 million for school security improvements since 1997;
	supported schools to ban aggressive parents from the site and have them removed and prosecuted if they flout the ban; and
	helped to establish over 400 Safer Schools Partnerships that base police officers in schools.
	In addition, we are:
	giving every primary school access to high-quality training and curriculum materials for developing pupils' social, emotional and behavioural skills and developing similar materials for secondary schools;
	developing specific violence prevention advice and training with associations representing heads and other school staff;
	working with the Home Office on legislation to give heads the power to search pupils for offensive weapons; and
	establishing an expert group of heads and teachers to consider what else the Government, local authorities, school staff and parents can do to promote discipline and a culture of respect in all schools.

School of Oriental and African Studies

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received regarding reported intimidation experienced by Jewish students at the School of Oriental and African Studies; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I have seen a dossier of complaints about alleged anti-Semitic incidents at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). I have also seen copies of correspondence from the Principal of SOAS in response to some of these complaints.
	The Government deplores racism in all its forms. While universities are autonomous institutions which operate independently of Government, we have acted to ensure there is adequate protection in law against all forms of racism on campus. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a duty on the governing bodies of universities to promote race equality in their institutions. This duty applies to all of a governing body's functions, including its obligations in respect of the running of student unions under the Education Act 1994, and its obligations in respect of freedom of speech under the Education (No 2) Act 1986.
	I welcome the fact that the Equality Challenge Unit (an independent, HE sector funded group) is looking at the issue of extremism and intolerance on campus with a view to updating guidance to universities.

School Repairs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the backlog of repairs is for each local education authority.

Jacqui Smith: The following table shows school buildings maintenance requirements for each English local education authority. The figures are derived from data supplied to the Department by authorities, based on their condition assessments. In addition to backlog repair work, the figures cover work needed over a five year period from the dates of the assessments, including cyclical and scheduled maintenance.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996–97 to £5.5 billion this year and will rise further to £6.3 billion by 2007–08. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock.
	
		Schools maintenance requirements
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 44,222,497 
			 Barnet 58,603,516 
			 Barnsley 47,377,891 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 17,672,104 
			 Bedfordshire 74,270,969 
			 Bexley 35,247,167 
			 Birmingham 338,036,375 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 26,590,050 
			 Blackpool 21,402,538 
			 Bolton 44,117,191 
			 Bournemouth 13,262,327 
			 Bracknell Forest 14,343,860 
			 Bradford 112,036,642 
			 Brent 33,459,172 
			 Brighton and Hove 21,667,673 
			 Bristol, City of 77,466,174 
			 Bromley 39,801,557 
			 Buckinghamshire 54,121,211 
			 Bury 42,449,317 
			 Calderdale 37,353,404 
			 Cambridgeshire 39,569,409 
			 Camden 17,268,774 
			 Cheshire 66,938,233 
			 City of London (14)— 
			 Cornwall 146,972,745 
			 Coventry 31,478,511 
			 Croydon 22,269,907 
			 Cumbria 82,161,197 
			 Darlington 22,193,948 
			 Derby 56,113,188 
			 Derbyshire 129,542,559 
			 Devon 87,228,805 
			 Doncaster 59,152,824 
			 Dorset 73,090,426 
			 Dudley 22,261,560 
			 Durham 106,241,188 
			 Ealing 37,065,046 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 99,490,815 
			 East Sussex 28,509,456 
			 Enfield 39,640,750 
			 Essex 197,634,312 
			 Gateshead 22,732,259 
			 Gloucestershire 51,072,003 
			 Greenwich 49,286,654 
			 Hackney 42,775,383 
			 Halton 26,868,923 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 17,079,357 
			 Hampshire 240,085,181 
			 Haringey 39,297,795 
			 Harrow 23,790,537 
			 Hartlepool 15,007,057 
			 Havering 48,416,933 
			 Herefordshire 16,897,205 
			 Hertfordshire 75,086,217 
			 Hillingdon 25,770,287 
			 Hounslow 44,954,654 
			 Isles of Scilly (14)— 
			 Isle of Wight 15,539,240 
			 Islington 27,481,974 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 7,199,700 
			 Kent 166,504,199 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 53,394,655 
			 Kingston upon Thames 32,425,060 
			 Kirklees 97,452,943 
			 Knowsley 25,520,785 
			 Lambeth 74,926,820 
			 Lancashire 244,291,587 
			 Leeds 136,625,524 
			 Leicester 39,445,204 
			 Leicestershire 102,188,829 
			 Lewisham 44,676,681 
			 Lincolnshire 72,040,420 
			 Liverpool 32,976,859 
			 Luton 33,314,852 
			 Manchester 87,231,469 
			 Medway 43,669,885 
			 Merton 17,662,950 
			 Middlesbrough 40,918,539 
			 Milton Keynes 20,583,973 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 85,592,912 
			 Newham 33,628,011 
			 Norfolk 92,413,508 
			 North East Lincolnshire 56,234,100 
			 North Lincolnshire 22,126,151 
			 North Somerset 36,242,355 
			 North Tyneside 21,895,120 
			 North Yorkshire 100,547,176 
			 Northamptonshire 84,661,298 
			 Northumberland 57,273,727 
			 Nottingham 47,910,920 
			 Nottinghamshire 113,001,142 
			 Oldham 60,592,182 
			 Oxfordshire 67,260,167 
			 Peterborough 32,021,378 
			 Plymouth 74,267,325 
			 Poole 16,773,163 
			 Portsmouth 26,686,671 
			 Reading 22,783,119 
			 Redbridge 33,523,467 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 19,607,080 
			 Richmond upon Thames 18,836,344 
			 Rochdale 43,838,994 
			 Rotherham 51,240,253 
			 Rutland 4,164,651 
			 Salford 38,994,416 
			 Sandwell 35,947,806 
			 Sefton 88,101,684 
			 Sheffield 128,032,809 
			 Shropshire 26,834,447 
			 Slough 18,409,704 
			 Solihull 23,165,245 
			 Somerset 66,163,207 
			 South Gloucestershire 42,445,864 
			 South Tyneside 35,563,408 
			 Southampton 16,380,584 
			 Southend-on-Sea 16,468,874 
			 Southwark 36,191,627 
			 St. Helens 27,343,605 
			 Staffordshire 119,230,578 
			 Stockport 61,495,833 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 42,563,198 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 3,747,091 
			 Suffolk 66,808,033 
			 Sunderland 38,582,178 
			 Surrey 111,580,199 
			 Sutton 15,502,302 
			 Swindon 25,127,638 
			 Tameside 34,346,720 
			 Telford and Wrekin 29,263,278 
			 Thurrock 29,794,067 
			 Torbay 6,925,565 
			 Tower Hamlets 19,165,134 
			 Trafford 17,098,082 
			 Wakefield 55,601,652 
			 Walsall 72,001,847 
			 Waltham Forest 20,412,472 
			 Wandsworth 44,993,672 
			 Warrington 53,194,121 
			 Warwickshire 144,361,958 
			 West Berkshire 20,475,147 
			 West Sussex 87,345,791 
			 Westminster 20,360,584 
			 Wigan 67,365,979 
			 Wiltshire 74,824,346 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 22,786,267 
			 Wirral 45,602,149 
			 Wokingham 26,334,926 
			 Wolverhampton 53,234,172 
			 Worcestershire 65,016,251 
			 York 41,611,318 
		
	
	(14) These small authorities were not asked to supply data.

Schools (Hertfordshire)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to increase parental choice at (a) primary and (b) secondary school levels in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: This Government is wholeheartedly committed to the principle of real choice for parents and pupils so that they can choose between excellent local schools, including those with a distinctive ethos or specialism. Parents have the right to express a preference for whatever school they wish their child to attend and we want as many parents as possible to be able to send their child to their preferred school.
	School admission authorities have a statutory duty to comply with parental preference, unless a particular school is oversubscribed, in which case places must be allocated according to the published admission arrangements.
	We have introduced a number of measures to make it easier for the best schools to expand in line with parental demand including making dedicated capital funding available for the expansion of successful and popular secondary schools. Schools wishing to expand must follow a statutory process—consulting interested parties and publishing a statutory notice. The final decision is taken by the local School Organisation Committee (SOC) or an independent Schools Adjudicator. Our guidance to SOCs and adjudicators makes it clear that there is a presumption in favour of approving proposals to expand a successful and popular school.

Schools (Hertfordshire)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to reduce secondary school class sizes in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: There is no national limit for secondary school classes as there is for infant classes of five, six and seven-year-olds. The average size of secondary school classes taught by one teacher nationally is 21.7. In Hertfordshire the average is 20.8. Only 8.7 per cent. of Hertfordshire's secondary classes have more than 30 pupils and there are no classes at all above 35 pupils.
	Decisions about secondary class sizes are a matter for each school, using their delegated budget as they consider best. The funding that individual schools receive is a matter for local authorities through their locally agreed funding formulae and local authorities are best placed to know the needs and priorities of their schools. In terms of resourcing schools in Hertfordshire, in 2005–06 Hertfordshire have had an increase in their School Formula Spending Share of 5.5 per cent. per pupil.

Sure Start

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the amount of funding for Sure Start centres which will be required from sources other than public funds in each financial year up to 2015; and from where funding is expected to come.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities will have the responsibility to develop children's centres to meet the needs of their communities building on existing provision such as Sure Start Local Programmes, neighbourhood nurseries and primary schools. Local authorities were given their funding allocations for children's centres in early April. The Department has not estimated how much additional funding will be given to children's centres from sources other than public funds. However centres will provide services that have grown from a range of existing provisions which have a number of funding streams eg health services, Jobcentre-Plus, family support and early education. They will also often include private sector funded services such as childcare nurseries or training of staff. Centres would also be able to generate additional revenues by charging parents for some of their services such as childcare.

Teacher Recruitment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the recruitment figures were in each local education authority for (a) primary and (b) secondary teachers in the last year for which figures are available; and how many unfilled vacancies there were in each.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Teacher Recruitment

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to assist Hertfordshire's schools to recruit and retain teachers; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: From September 2000, £6,000 training bursaries are being paid to eligible students on Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses that lead to qualified teacher status. For those who train in and then go on to teach in one of the priority subject areas, a £4,000 Golden Hello payment is made after induction has been completed. Since 2000, there has been a 9 per cent. increase in teacher numbers in Hertfordshire—from 9,030 in 2000 to 9,820 in 2004.
	Other measures have been introduced to aid the retention of these teachers, including a "National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload" which sets out a number of measures designed to tackle teacher workload including a concerted attack on unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy.
	The Teacher Training Agency is also contributing to the salary costs of a recruitment manager in Hertfordshire local education authority until March 2007, to help schools in the area with their recruitment and retention strategies.

Teacher Recruitment

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to increase the pool of mathematics and science teachers available to secondary schools; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: From September 2000, £6,000 training bursaries are being paid to eligible students on Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses that lead to qualified teacher status. £4,000 Golden Hellos are also available to those who go on to teach priority subjects, including mathematics and science, in a maintained school after successful completion of an induction year. For those taking mathematics or science PGCE courses from September 2005, these incentives will each be increased by £1,000.
	The Teacher Training Agency has also developed subject enhancement courses in mathematics, chemistry and physics to enable those without degrees primarily in those subjects to enter Initial Teacher Training in mathematics or science.

Teacher Retirement

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her policy is on preserving the right of teachers to retire at 60 years of age; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Government are committed to the continued provision of high quality pension arrangements for teachers that are affordable, reflect the challenges of continuing improvements in life expectancy and are justifiable to the tax payer. The current review of the Teachers' Pension Scheme is being conducted within that framework, but with the firm commitment that teachers will still be able to choose to retire at, before or after age 60.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Marginal Withdrawal Rates

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people face marginal withdrawal rates higher than (a) 50 per cent., (b) 60 per cent., (c) 70 per cent., and (d) 80 per cent. when they come off benefits and go into work; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not available.

Benefit Payment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the difficulties faced by individuals with mental health problems in receiving benefits into bank accounts.

James Plaskitt: More than 95 per cent. of people are paid into a bank, building society or Post Office card account. (This figure includes benefits paid to customers with mental health problems, such as disability living allowance and incapacity benefit.)
	Independent research for DWP has shown that more than nine out of ten customers (again including those receiving benefits paid to people with mental health problems) were satisfied with having payments made directly into their account.
	There is now a range of easy to operate basic bank accounts and the Post Office card account available. These have limited features and are suitable for those people who, for example, feel they cannot operate a traditional high street bank account (perhaps because they are concerned about becoming overdrawn).
	However, we always recognised that there would be a small number of people who we could not pay into any sort of account, including some of those with mental health problems. These customers are paid by DWP cheque which they can cash over the counter at a Post Office branch. We wanted to ensure that we properly met the needs of those vulnerable customers who we could not pay into an account, and settled on cheque payments following extensive discussions with customer representative groups—including Mind (the leading mental health charity). For example, cheque payments offer the flexibility to pay people with mental heath problems for a short period until they feel that they are able to manage a bank account again.

Post Office Card Accounts

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contingency plans are in place to ensure continuity of payments to holders of Post Office card accounts, when the computer system fails.

James Plaskitt: The Post Office card account is a Post Office banking service and Post Office Ltd is responsible for ensuring that its computer systems are robust and that it provides a reliable service to card account customers. The accounts are regulated by the Financial Services Authority like any bank account.
	The Department has close contact with Post Office Ltd to ensure that in the event of a system failure, action to restore the service quickly is taken in line with comprehensive business continuity arrangements. These arrangements have been agreed between Post Office Ltd and DWP, the Revenue and Customs and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency.
	Where exceptionally the Post Office system is unavailable, there are contingency arrangements for Post Office Ltd to pay emergency payments of up to £20 per day to customers until systems are restored.
	Those customers unable to manage until systems are restored are instructed to contact the office that pays their benefit or pension.

HEALTH

Cancer

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research the Government are funding to combat cancer.

Jane Kennedy: The international cancer research portfolio database at www.cancerportfolio.org contains details of projects supported by cancer research funding organisations in the United Kingdom and the United States. Data submitted by the National Cancer Research Institute includes the research portfolios of its 15 partners, which is the largest Government and charitable funder of cancer research in the UK. The database can be searched by type of cancer, area of research, and funding organisation.

Charing Cross Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available for use in the Charing Cross hospital on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many were available in (a) 1992, (b) 1997 and (c) 2001.

Jane Kennedy: This data are not collected by individual hospitals, but is collected by national health service trusts. Beds data are collected on a financial year basis and the latest figures available are for 2003–04. Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust was not formed until 1994; therefore, the Department does not hold any figures for 1992. The data shown in the table is for Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, of which Charing Cross hospital is a part.
	
		
			  Beds available 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,037 
			 2001–02 1,056 
			 1997–98 1,141

Charing Cross Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of Charing Cross hospital.

Jane Kennedy: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with the local health economy to plan and improve services for their local population. I understand Hammersmith Hospitals National Health Service Trust is currently exploring options about how it will manage its estate over the next 10 years. As yet, the trust has no clear plans, but I understand that the process will involve a range of internal and external partners in drawing up a solution, which would then be subject to a full and thorough public consultation.

Charing Cross Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to visit Charing Cross hospital.

Jane Kennedy: There are no plans to undertake a visit to Charing Cross hospital.

Charing Cross Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust about the Charing Cross hospital;
	(2)  what discussions her predecessor had with the Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust in regard to the Charing Cross hospital.

Jane Kennedy: Neither the Secretary of State nor her predecessor have had discussions with Hammersmith hospitals national health service trust about the Charing Cross hospital.

Charing Cross Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were postponed in the Charing Cross hospital in (a) 1992, (b) 1997, (c) 2001 and (d) 2004.

Jane Kennedy: The Department does not collect data on postponed operations. Figures for cancelled operations for non clinical reasons are collected, but by national health service trust and not by individual hospital. Figures for Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust, of which Charing Cross hospital is a part, are shown in the following table.
	
		Cancelled operations for non clinical reasons
		
			  Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust 
		
		
			 1992–93 n/a 
			 1997–98(15) n/a 
			 2001–02 553 
			 2003–04 390 
			 2004–05(16) (17)— 
		
	
	(15) Data are not collected for individual hospitals. Data was collected by health authority only prior to 2001–02. Trust level data was collected from 2001–02 onwards.
	(16) 2004–05 data is not yet available. Instead, the latest published 2003–04 data is shown in the table.
	(17) To be published end of May 2005.
	Notes:
	1. A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation. For example, a patient is to be admitted to hospital on a Monday for an operation scheduled for the following day (Tuesday). If the hospital cancels the operation for non-clinical reasons on the Monday, then this would count as a last minute cancellation. This includes patients who have not actually arrived in hospital and have been telephoned at home prior to their arrival. An operation which is rescheduled to a time within 24 hours of the original scheduled operation should be recorded as a postponement and not as a cancellation. The QMCO collection does not record the number of postponements.
	2. Some common non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; administration error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable.
	Source:
	Department of Health dataset QMCO.

Charing Cross Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the (a) readiness and (b) capability of Charing Cross hospital to act as the Trauma Centre for west London;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the Hammersmith hospitals NHS trust regarding the status of Charing Cross hospital as a major trauma centre.

Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with Hammersmith hospitals national health service trust regarding the status of Charing Cross hospital as a major trauma centre. Charing Cross hospital provides a wide range of specialist skills and services, which enable it to deal with major incidents. However, it has no official status as the trauma centre for west London.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to improve the treatment and care of those patients with complex regional pain syndrome;
	(2)  if she will conduct a review to ensure that the NHS has implemented the recommendations of the report of the Clinical Standards Advisory Group on pain services of March 2000; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Department welcomed the clinical standards advisory group report on pain services, published in April 2000, that made recommendations to trusts and commissioners to review local provision of pain services. Implementation of these recommendations lies with the local national health service trusts and commissioners.
	It remains the responsibility of primary care trusts to commission services for people with pain, taking account of resources they have available and the needs of their wider populations. Therefore, the quality of services should be monitored locally to ensure it is provided to meet the needs of the local population.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has reviewed pain management techniques as part of the supportive and palliative care guidance, published in March 2004. This provides a clearer idea of what therapies are effective. This guidance is available on the NICE website at www.nice.org.uk/pdf/csgspmanual.pdf.
	The Department has no plans to review the provision of pain services in the NHS.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding her Department has made available in each year since 1997 for research into complex regional pain syndrome.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.
	The main part of the Department's expenditure on health research is allocated to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects supported in the NHS, including a number concerned with complex regional pain syndrome, can be found on the National Research Register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Congestion Charge

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London regarding implications of the proposed westwards extension of the congestion charge for patients travelling from outside the zone's border to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital for treatment;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the Mayor of London.

Jane Kennedy: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussion with the Mayor of London. However, Professor Sue Atkinson, regional director of public health (London), is the Department's health advisor to the Mayor and the Greater London Authority. Professor Atkinson meets regularly with the Mayor and his advisers and has raised the proposed congestion charge zone extension with the Mayor at these meetings.
	I understand the public consultation on the extension of the scheme is underway and closes on 15 July 2005.
	A leaflet about public consultation on the extension is available at: www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/cc-ex/pdfs/wez_Leaflet.pdf

Digital Hearing Aids

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average, (b) maximum and (c) target waiting time for (i) audiology appointments and (ii) the fitting of digital hearing aids were in the last period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Median waiting times for ear, nose and throat (ENT) and audiological medicine are shown in the table. Data on waiting times for the fitting of digital hearing aids are not centrally collected.
	For all specialties, the maximum waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following general practitioner referral, is 17 weeks. By the end of 2005, this will be reduced to a maximum of 13 weeks.
	By 2008, the maximum wait will be just 18 weeks from referral to start of treatment. This includes waits for outpatient consultation, diagnostic tests and treatment.
	
		
			 Main specialty Median waiting time in days 
		
		
			 120—ENT 75.0 
			 310—Audiological medicine 32.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls (i.e., the data is ungrossed).
	2. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the datayear. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	3. Care is needed when analysing HES data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as acute). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes, so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other recorded information.
	4. Time waited statistics from hospital episode statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period, whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	HES, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

European Working Time Directive

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the European working time directive (EWTD) (a) on the NHS in general and (b) on the ability of junior doctors to recognise and manage critical illness; and if she will make a statement on the steps being taken to redraft the EWTD in order to reverse the SIMAP and Jaeger rulings.

Liam Byrne: Implementation of the working time directive (WTD) is a local national health service matter, but we know that the vast majority of trusts achieved compliance across all specialities by 1 August 2004, although a small number of trusts experienced some initial problems in a limited number of specialities.
	The United Kingdom, together with most member states, continues to press for changes to the WTD to address the difficulties from the SIMAP and Jaeger judgments. The Government will continue to seek to negotiate an acceptable agreement with member states and the European Commission.

General Practitioners

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many out-of-hours general practitioners there are per thousand of the population in (a) the area covered by South Gloucestershire primary care trust, (b) the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire strategic health authority and (c) England.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 May 2005
	The information is not collected by the Department. It is for individual primary care trusts to ensure out-of-hours provision in their areas.

General Practitioners

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) single-handed GP practices and (b) two-partner GP practices there are in Chiltern and South Bucks Primary Care Trust area at the latest date for which statistics are available; and what percentage these practices represent of the total number of GP practices in the primary care trust area.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of practices by partnership size(18) for Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust—England as at 30 September 2004
		
			  5G4 Chiltern and South Bucks. Primary Care Trust 
		
		
			 Number (headcount)  
			 Total 23 
			 Of which:  
			 Single-handed 4 
			 Two-handed 3 
			 Percentage  
			 Single-handed 17 
			 Two-handed 13 
		
	
	(18) Figures shown refer to general medical practitioners (excluding GP registrars and GP retainers).
	Source:
	National Health Service Health and Social Care Information Centre general and personal medical services statistics.

General Practitioners

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners in the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust area are within five years of retirement; and what percentage of the total this represents.

Liam Byrne: There is no prescribed retirement age for general practitioners. The table shows all general practitioners in the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust by age-band, as at September 2004.
	
		General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) by age-band as at September 2004
		
			  Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale primary care trust 
		
		
			 NHS Plan GPs 134 
			 Of which:  
			 Under 30 — 
			 30–34 12 
			 35–39 21 
			 40–44 16 
			 45–49 23 
			 50–54 25 
			 55–59 15 
			 60–64 13 
			 65–69 9 
			 70 and over — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted GPs, general medical service (QMS) others and personal medical service (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004, this group included QMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (para. 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	2. Data as at 30 September 2004.
	Source:
	Department of Health QMS PMS statistics.

Hammersmith Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to visit Hammersmith Hospital.

Jane Kennedy: I intend to visit the research and development department of Hammersmith Hospital in the near future.

Hammersmith Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the financial position of the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust.

Jane Kennedy: At the end of the financial year, Hammersmith Hospitals National Health Service Trust is reporting a significant financial deficit. Audited information in respect of the 2004–05 financial position of all strategic health authorities (SHAs), primary care trusts (PCTs) and NHS trusts will be published in their individual annual accounts and will be available centrally in autumn 2005. We have no plans to publish un-audited information.
	NHS bodies must operate within their means and I understand North West London SHA are working closely with Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and local PCT to find a solution. They are developing a recovery plan, the details of which are currently under discussion. As yet, there are no measures in the plan which will have a direct impact on patient services.

Hammersmith Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of emergency admissions in the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust area are to (a) Charing Cross Hospital and (b) Hammersmith Hospital.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Count of emergency in-year admission episodes for Hammersmith Hospitals National Health Service Trust (provider code—RQN)
		
			  2003–04 2002–03 
			 Hospital site of treatment Emergency admissions Percentage Emergency admissions Percentage 
		
		
			 Charing Cross  Hospital 11,922 58.79 10,347 59.54 
			 Hammersmith Hospital 8,348 41.17 7,022 40.41 
			 Other 8 0.04 9 0.05 
			 Total 20,278 100 17,378 100 
		
	
	
		
			  2001–02 Total over 3 years 
			 Hospital site of treatment Emergency admissions Percentage Emergency admissions Percentage 
		
		
			 Charing Cross  Hospital 9,511 58.48 31,780 58.94 
			 Hammersmith Hospital 6,752 41.52 22,122 41.03 
			 Other 0 0 17 0.03 
			 Total 16,263 100 53,919 100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data split by site of treatment and the proportion of episodes are calculated as a percentage for each site.
	2. Data provided for datayears 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 and total figures calculated over the three datayears.
	3. An in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the datayear. Periods of care ongoing at the end of the datayear (unfinished admission episodes) are included. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	4. Data quality—hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	5. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	HES, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Hammersmith Hospital

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints (a) Hammersmith hospitals NHS Trust and (b) her Department has received in the last 12 months regarding the accessibility of Hammersmith hospital for (i) patients and (ii) staff.

Jane Kennedy: The Department does not collect this information.

Health Protection Agency

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Health Protection Agency is expected to publish the conclusions of its review of the law concerning the treatment of people with infectious diseases against their will.

Caroline Flint: "Getting Ahead of the Curve", the infectious disease strategy published by the chief medical officer in January 2002, made clear our intention to review the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.
	In preparation for the review, the Department has asked the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to consider how public health practitioners might make more effective use of the powers currently provided by the 1984 Act, and what difficulties practitioners find with the current powers and what changes might be desirable. We expect to receive the results of the first instalment of the HPA's work by the end of June 2005 and will want to consider with the HPA at that stage when and in what form it would be appropriate to publish the results of its work.
	We will decide, in the light of work by the HPA and of other developments, such as the World Health Organisation's adoption of new international health regulations, how to take the review forward. Our aim will be to consider whether and how the law could be modernised to ensure protection of the public, while respecting the rights of the individual. If it seems that changes to the law would be desirable, we shall of course want to consult those affected before proceeding.

Health Service Complaints

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many case managers have been appointed to review health service complaints referred to the Healthcare Commission; how many such cases are outstanding; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 23 March 2005
	The Healthcare Commission took on its role in handling the independent review stage of the national health service complaints process at the end of July 2004. I understand that there are currently 87 case managers working on independent review requests.
	As at 23 May, the Commission had received 7,850 cases for review. Of these, 2,650 had been closed and reviews were being carried out on a further 2,650. 2,550 were being prepared for review.

Hospital Beds/Food

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated change in numbers of hospital beds is between 2005 and 2010, broken down by strategic health authority.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not estimate changes in hospital bed numbers. The latest capacity planning exercise, conducted in 2004, was designed to ensure there was sufficient activity in place to deliver the 2006–07 to 2007–08 public service agreements targets. The Departmental focus was on the levels of elective, non-elective and diagnostics activity planned by strategic health authorities rather than bed numbers.
	Determination of the number of hospital beds required to deliver planned levels of activity set out in local delivery plans is the responsibility of the national health service locally.

Hospital Beds/Food

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her estimate is of the incidence of hospital-induced malnutrition in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: This data are not collected centrally. A number of strategies are in place to manage, monitor and screen patients for under-nutrition in hospitals, residential care and the wider community. Nutritional screening is recommended for the care of specific groups, as part of locally determined services.

Hospital Beds/Food

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals (a) built since 1997, (b) under construction and (c) planned do not have on-site kitchens.

Jane Kennedy: This information is not collected centrally. The requirements of any new build and the operational policies for catering are for local determination between trusts and contractors.

Hospital Beds/Food

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of hospital meals are prepared on-site.

Jane Kennedy: This information is not collected centrally in the exact format requested. Data collected from trusts as part of the annual estates related information collection (ERIC) is shown in the table. The term "conventional" refers to food prepared on site. In addition, some of the meals provided through "cook chill", "cook freeze" and "other" services will also be produced on site. We do not have data on the exact amount of food produced on site through these latter processes.
	
		Percentage of patient meals by production service/method—2003–04
		
			 Production service/method Percentage 
		
		
			 Cook chill plated 6.67 
			 Cook chill bulk 30.44 
			 Conventional plated 30.99 
			 Conventional bulk 20.59 
			 Cook freeze plated 1.65 
			 Cook freeze bulk 8.5 
			 Other 1.14

Hospital Beds/Food

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the better hospital food programme.

Jane Kennedy: An assessment of the better hospital food (BHF) programme has been conducted by analysis of the results of patient environment action team (PEAT) visits, delivery against the BHF objectives and by national patient surveys.
	All have shown improvement since the programme began. Figures are shown in the tables.
	
		Table 1: Progress in terms of PEAT since 2001
		
			  (a) PEAT results 2002–03 
			  2002 2003 
		
		
			 Red (poor)   
			 Number 14 0 
			 Percentage 2 0 
			 Amber (acceptable)   
			 Number 554 479 
			 Percentage 81 56.3 
			 Green (good)   
			 Number 118 372 
			 Percentage 17 43.7 
		
	
	
		(b) PEAT results 2004
		
			  2004 
		
		
			 Excellent  
			 Number 92 
			 Percentage 8 
			   
			 Good  
			 Number 574 
			 Percentage 50 
			   
			 Acceptable  
			 Number 402 
			 Percentage 35 
			   
			 Poor  
			 Number 67 
			 Percentage 6 
			   
			 Unacceptable  
			 Number 7 
			 Percentage 1 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Progress against the 2001 BHF objectives
		
			  As at June: 
			  2002 2003 2004 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Ward kitchen services 256 72 320 89 332 89 
			 Snack box service 210 59 254 71 295 79 
			 Additional snacks 183 51 233 65 314 84 
			 Main meal evening 280 78 327 92 349 94 
			 Leading chef dishes 142 40 214 60 314 84 
		
	
	
		Table 3: The national patient survey percentages
		
			  2001–02 (quarter 18) 2003–04 (quarter 15) 
		
		
			 Base: All valid  responses (89,304) (83,248) 
			 Very good 18 18 
			 Good 35 36 
			 Fair 31 31 
			 Poor 16 15 
			 I did not have any  hospital food Not applicable Not applicable

Hospital Beds/Food

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the total expenditure on (a) food and (b) catering services in the NHS in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: This data are not collected in the exact form requested. The cost of provisions for patients and the total cost of catering from 2000–04 is shown in the table. Information was not collected prior to 2000.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Cost of provisions for patients(19) Total cost of catering(20) 
		
		
			 2000–01 108 405 
			 2001–02 149 483 
			 2002–03 162 553 
			 2003–04 172 563 
		
	
	(19) The cost of provisions for patients includes foods, beverages, special diets and ward provisions such as bread, milk and coffee. It excludes parental and enteral feeding, baby milk and nutritional supplements.
	(20) The total cost of catering includes pay, employer's national insurance and pension contributions for the manager responsible for catering services and all designated staff/deputies including administrative and clerical grades, but excludes the costs of ward housekeepers, it also includes the cost of provisions for patients and staff.

Hospital Beds/Food

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the proportion of hospital food wasted in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: This information is not collected in the exact format requested. The latest figures on food waste in the form of untouched meals are shown in the table.
	
		Untouched meals from 2001–02 to 2003–04
		
			  Total patient main meals Total untouched meals Percentage of meals untouched 
		
		
			 2001–02 141,127,010 12,498,786 8.86 
			 2002–03 148,439,390 15,501,471 10.44 
			 2003–04 162,364,553 17,396,869 10.71

Intensive Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional resources have been made available in each year since 1997 to support the provision of intensive care services; and what additional resources she plans to make available.

Liam Byrne: The Department made available £142.5 million additional funding specifically for critical care services in 2000–01 and 2001–02. These resources have now been incorporated into primary care trusts' financial baselines.
	Over the three years of the 2004 spending review (2005–06 to 2007–08), national health service spend will increase by 23 per cent. in real terms. Over three years this will take the total spent on the NHS in England from £69 billion in 2004–05 to over £92 billion in 2007–08. It is for local health economies to make decisions on how to invest these growing resources in ways that most effectively respond to the needs and priorities of their local populations, including those relating to intensive care.

Intensive Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the practice of doctors at senior house officer level referring and accepting patients into intensive care units.

Liam Byrne: In May 2000, the Department issued "Comprehensive Critical Care—A Review of Adult Critical Care Services". This recommended that consultant medical staff should have responsibility for directing the overall plan of patient clinical care, direct supervision and teaching of trainee medical staff, internal and organisational (non-clinical) management and leadership of critical care services.

Intensive Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many intensive care beds there were in the NHS in each year since 1997; and what proportion of all available beds this represented in each year.

Liam Byrne: The Department has published data on intensive care provision on a six-monthly basis since March 1999. The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of open and staffed adult intensive care beds on thecensus day
		
			 Census date Intensive care beds Proportion as a percentage of all available beds 
		
		
			 31 March 1999 1,520 0.8 
			 30 September 1999 1,501 0.8 
			 15 January 2000 1,555 0.8 
			 14 July 2000 1,496 0.8 
			 15 January 2001 1,677 0.9 
			 16 July 2001 1,670 0.9 
			 15 January 2002 1,711 0.9 
			 16 July 2002 1,718 0.9 
			 15 January 2003 1,746 0.9 
			 16 July 2003 1,731 0.9 
			 15 January 2004 1,769 1.0 
			 15 July 2004 1,746 (21)— 
			 13 January 2005 1,787 (21)— 
		
	
	(21) Data not yet available.
	Notes:
	1. Data on all available beds data (KH03) are collected annually.
	2. Data on all available beds data for July 2004 and January 2005 are not yet available.
	3. Day only beds have been excluded.
	Source:
	Department of Health forms KH03a, KH03

Intensive Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to produce a single model for the provision of outreach services in intensive care; and if she will make a statement on the actions being taken to address the concerns reported in the 2005 report of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, An Acute Problem.

Liam Byrne: It is for health professionals working in local health services to provide intensive care services in ways that best meet the needs of their local populations and there are no plans to produce a single uniform model for the provision of outreach services. The Department promotes the development of outreach services and recommends that they are available in every appropriate hospital 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
	The Government welcomes the report of the national confidential enquiry into patient outcome and death (NCEPOD). The report reinforces the importance of the service improvements and developments that have been taking place in recent years, supported by the critical care modernisation programme that the Department launched in May 2000. Every hospital with a critical care services is now included in one of 29 critical care networks that work to locally agreed common standards and protocols, supporting improvements in service standards and assisting commissioners and providers in planning service provision. The Department, working closely with the critical care stakeholders' forum, will continue to support the national health service in developing critical care services, taking into account the recommendations of the NCEPOD report.

IVF Treatment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the availability of IVF treatment on the NHS as at 1 April; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Following the publication in February 2004 of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment for people with fertility problems, we advised all primary care trusts (PCTs) to offer a minimum of one cycle of "in-vitro fertilisation" (IVF) by April 2005 to those who meet the clinical criteria, and to make progress to full implementation of the guideline in the longer term. The survey of PCTs, conducted by the National Infertility Awareness Campaign and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infertility, published on 1 April 2005, indicates that good progress is being made towards a minimum national level of provision of one cycle of IVF to eligible patients.

Mobile Phones

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research the Government have (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the health effects of mobile phones on people in rural areas; and what plans the Government have to issue guidance on those effects.

Caroline Flint: The LINK mobile telecommunications and health research (MTHR) programme, funded jointly by Government and industry, is providing support for about 30 individual studies into potential health effects of mobile phone technology. Although none of these is specifically comparing rural and urban use, the population studies under this programme are designed to find out if there is an association between mobile phone use and ill health. The MTHR research is described on its website at www.mthr.org.uk.
	Evaluation of worldwide research on possible health effects of mobile phone use is undertaken in this country by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and its independent advisory group on non-ionising radiation (AGNIR). The substantial review by AGNIR in 2003, entitled, "Health Effects from Radiofrequency Fields (RF)", concluded that:
	"The weight of evidence now available does not suggest that there are adverse health effects from exposures to RF fields below guideline levels, but the published research on RF exposures and health have limitations, and mobile phones have only been in widespread use for a relatively short time".
	The HPA keeps the health effects under continual review. The information is available on its website at www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/.
	The Department's advice remains as stated in the "Mobile phones and Health" leaflets: people can choose to minimise their exposure if they wish, but for children in particular, the advice is to limit mobile phones use for essential purposes only and keep calls short.

MRSA

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA there were in each hospital in the UK in the last five years for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections is not available by hospital as requested. However, mandatory surveillance began in April 2001 and results are published by individual trust This information is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/PublicationsStatistics/PublicationsStatisticsArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_10=4085951&chk=HBt2QD.
	The national totals are shown in the table.
	
		Reports under the mandatory MRSA bacteraemia surveillance system (acute national health service trusts, England)
		
			  MRSA 
		
		
			 April to March  
			 2001–02 7,249 
			 2002–03 7,373 
			 2003–04 7,684 
			 April 2004-September 2004 3,519 
		
	
	Source:
	Health Protection Agency.

MRSA

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to reduce the incidence of MRSA at Chase Farm hospital.

Jane Kennedy: To support the target of halving meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections by 2008, the Department has set up an improvement network for trusts with high MRSA numbers and challenging targets. Barnet and Chase Farm national health service trust, of which Chase Farm hospital is a part, is a member of this network, which is helping trusts improve their infection control.
	Trusts now have directors of infection prevention and control and they will publish annual reports on local progress shortly.

Multiple Sclerosis

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will exempt multiple sclerosis therapy centres from the need to undergo Healthcare Commission inspections; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: There are no plans to exempt these centres from the requirement to register with, and be inspected by, the Healthcare Commission.

NHS Staff (Assaults)

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to protect NHS staff from violent assaults; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Violence against national health service staff is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated. For the first time the NHS is putting in place a network of local specialists across the NHS with the professional skills to tackle this problem, supported nationally by the NHS security management service. Full figures for 2004–05 will be available shortly, but the indications are that this approach has already delivered a substantial increase in the number of prosecutions.

Overseas Nurses

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas nurses were trained in the (a) NHS and (b) private sector in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: We do not hold this information centrally.
	From data provided by the University and Colleges Admissions Service, the total number of applicants accepted on nursing diploma and degree programmes for 2004 entry is 21,171, of which 432 were from overseas countries.

Paediatric Oncology

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many paediatric oncology beds were available in England on 8 May;
	(2)  how many vacancies there are for paediatric oncology nurses; and how many have been vacant for the last three months;
	(3)  how many children have had to wait more than 10 days for a paediatric oncology bed in England during the last two years;
	(4)  what the average occupancy rate for paediatric oncology beds in England was in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not centrally collected on either the numbers and use of beds nor numbers of nurses at a sub-specialty level, such as paediatric oncology.

Waiting Time Targets

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those primary care trusts responsible for patients in breach of the nine months in-patient waiting time target for the period ending on 31 March.

Liam Byrne: The table shows the number of patients waiting over nine months for an in-patient admission as at 31 March 2005, commissioner based.
	
		
			 Commissioning primary care trust (PCT) name Number of in-patients waiting over nine months 
		
		
			 Southern Norfolk 1 
			 Richmond and Twickenham 1 
			 Sutton and Merton 2 
			 East Leeds 1 
			 Wakefield West 1 
			 Salford 1 
			 Cheshire West 4 
			 Halton 1 
			 Warrington 1 
			 Maidstone Weald 1 
			 East Elmbridge 1 
			 Brighton and Hove City 3 
			 North Bristol 4 
			 Bristol South and West 10 
			 South Gloucester 2 
			 North Somerset 2 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 1 
			 North Bristol 1 
			 Bristol South and West 1 
			 Shropshire County 2 
		
	
	Of the 41 patients waiting over 12 months at the end of March 2005, most were waiting for admission either to Welsh hospitals or a single English trust (the United Bristol hospitals national health service trust).